Hello!

Hey everyone!

My name is Christian. Its really great to find a space that is so accepting of other peoples feelings and experiences. Ive been battling with depression and anxiety for the majority of my life. I was raised between two loving, divorced parents. Surrounding us were extended family members who I loved, but were involved in drug and alcohol abuse, sexual and domestic violence, and gang affiliation. My parents tried to shelter us from those things and Ive always appreciated that.

A few years ago, I had a minor falling out with my mothers boyfriend because he was gradually becoming more and more emotionally abusive towards her. Thats when I made the decision to live with my father full-time. She has never been financially stable so she continues to receive child-support payments from him, even though I dont live with her. But my father is legally obliged to do so unless she ends it herself. Around that same time, we were removed from our fathers family home (that my late grandfather built) by the government as our residency was illegal. We were forced to move into the most affordable, decent-looking property available on the market at the time. Its a 3-bedroom house. However, we currently have 6 people living here and 3 of which are illegally living here. So either way were breaking the law! It also means that I cant have my own bedroom or even my own bed. I sleep on a thin mattress in my living room. Its a total lack of privacy and personal space.

Even more, my mother is now refusing all duties of parenthood. She has been diagnosed with depression, alongside her boyfriend. It breaks my heart the most because the relationship between a parent and a child of the same sex is very important, and I feel as though Im missing out. My younger brothers are also diagnosed, with autism and severe anxiety. My close cousin, basically my older sister, is so depressed that she wants to kill herself and has an eating disorder. I feel so surrounded by mental illness that its become a taboo within my family. Our version of mental health is get over it and there are people that have it worse.

But I know that mental health is just as important as physical health and I want to get myself to a healthier, happier place.