"Everything changed July 2024. I went from a happily married woman to a sad, sad all alone 45 year-old woman whose husband decided that he didn’t wanna be with her anymore. It was out of the blue. It was unexpected, and it was a punch in the face, realizing that the person that you thought you would spend the rest of your life with Didn’t want you anymore because they thought they could find happiness somewhere else. I sunk into a deep deep depression and really didn’t think that there was a way out. Luckily for me, I had two wonderful friends who pulled me out of the depths of despair and loneliness, and let me know that I was loved And that I was needed here. My divorce was finalized in September and my ex walked away like it was nothing 20 years together, gone with a single stroke of a pen, it was over. I was having to learn to navigate a new life of being alone, of taking care of everything myself, of paying the taxes, of handling home ownership And it wasn’t fun. There were so many times that I just wanted to give up. There were so many times I just wanted to not be here anymore, but I realized that I couldn’t let someone else’s decisions define me. Because of people like Mattie and others who share their stories of how struggling is OK And getting help is OK and not being perfect is OK and not having it figured out is OK it really helped me. I can never thank Mattie enough for her advocacy for mental health. It really has changed my life and it has made me realize that I am enough the way I am. I don’t need to be thinner. I don’t need to be prettier. I just need to be me because me is enough for this world and if they don’t like it, they can fuck off. I am fortunate to be in a better place now because of good friends, therapy, and not being afraid of telling people how I feel."
-Anonymous
