Ricky's Story

_And then one day I was driving, and I got this phone call that pissed me off so much. It shouldn’t have been a big deal, but it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I pulled over to the side of the road and just broke down. I called my mom and said, ‘I don’t know what the eff is going on, but I need help.’

Looking back now, from a better place, it’s easy to see how all the pillars that held up my life and my happiness were crumbling at once, like they were on a foundation of sand. But, at the same time, I can also see how no one on the outside looking in could have known I needed help. Even when I talk about it today, people are surprised. ‘You were depressed?’ they say. ‘But you were smiling in every picture, you looked so happy. You had a good job, amazing friends, a beautiful partner, a happy family.’

But depression doesn’t take any prisoners, it will affect anybody at any time. And you’ll never know that these outwardly happy people are battling these demons on the inside, unless they tell you. So I told people. I started seeing a therapist and really taking care of myself. And now, I realize how much everyone around me benefits when I am the best version of myself. There’s a reason they tell you on an airplane to put on your own oxygen mask before you help others.”