connecting with this so much of this <3 congrats on your year of stability and working thru so much. you did it!! (-:
for the strangers thing, i try coming in like "omg i don't know anyone else here how do y'all know each other" introduction, and follow up with something silly and thoughtful like, "have you ever thought about what your curse is? mine is getting stuck in seatbelt child locks. it happens every time i get into a car." and see if that vibes with them, haha.
Omg thank you for your suggestion!! I will try this out and come up with some weird question to ask everybody. Now I'm thinking about what my curse would be... Maybe always getting hit in the head by balls in the park!
omg i'm so sorry for your curse!! if it helps a fun follow-up question to get people back into funny moods has been like "ok what is your blessing!" a little harder to pin down but i think mine is that there's always someone around to help if i need it. <:
Thanks for this. I’ve struggled with depression for more than 30 years and sometimes it’s overwhelming. Lately it’s been very hard to deal with but reading this comic has helped :)
idk if u can tell but I’m reading through all your Substack posts rn because everything you say resonates with me deeply, whether it’s silly and humorous, or very touching like this comic. I relate to people often but it’s been awhile since I’ve felt like I was reading my own thoughts but coming from someone else O__O I just recently got out of a depressive episode and I create very happy art too so it was a tough time navigating that. I’m glad we are both stable now!! :D yay haha
Wow thank you so much!! This is so incredibly sweet of you, and I am so happy to hear that you can relate to all my little posts. It's so wonderful to hear that you are doing well now, it's nice to get some fresh air out of the ocean. :)
Thank you so much for sharing and following up on your story a year later! It's super helpful and very inspiring. I've been there and I am also in recovery, still on meds, but feeling better and finally fit for life. And you said something there that really resonates with me something about "feel like myself again". It's almost like we forget who we are and get in to this seemly endless black hole. I reciprocate and I am so happy to know and fell that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we are both going on that direction. All the best, Lian. Keep it up! =)
Thank you for sharing this; I’m currently on short term disability and have been feeling pretty useless, having to ask for financial help from family makes it worse too. I’m on a homestead I just purchased and with winter lasting so long am not able to work on any of the manual labor tasks I find fulfilling. But tomorrow will always come and be filled with new problems to fix <3
Oh i'm so sorry to hear about your current situation! It's the worst and honestly winter just makes everything worse. I'm wishing you a very speedy recovery so you can get back to the things you love!! It's also a good time to just take it easy on yourself I've found, there's a reason that animals hibernate during the winter. Take some time to enjoy the slowness and quiet!
Wow, thank you so much for sharing this. It’s really so brave of you. It’s very inspiring to think of the power in slow and steady progress even when it’s hard to keep going, the pay off when you reflect back on how far you’ve come is so rewarding. I’m a new reader here and just love your drawings and newsletter so much. So happy you’re feeling better, sounds like you’ve worked really hard. Here’s to many more years of progress, thanks for all you do💖
Thank you so much! I'm so happy to hear that you're enjoying the newsletter. You're so right about how progress can be slow, it's just like watching a plant grow. It doesn't move when you're watching it intently but when you come back in a couple months you see all the growth!
I have never read anything that describes my experience with depression and anxiety so accurately (and illustrated so wonderfully). This comic brought me a lot of hope as I work on keeping myself from drowning again. Thank you so much for sharing and congrats on a year of success!
Thank you so much for your kind words. It's definitely been eye opening to realize that so many other people out there are feeling the exact same way I was feeling. I believe in you and trust me it'll get better slowly!!
I have only just found my float and starting to build a raft out but this is such a helpful piece for me, not just in terms of mental health, but also in illustration. 💛
Oh this is so wonderful to hear! I'm so happy you've started to build your raft, congratulations to you! The hardest part is getting out and it'll slowly get easier and easier :)
It feels like it’s been a long time coming, I’ve struggled since I was a teen but been fully at sea since 2020. I’m now 35 and finally getting life back on the track I want it on!
I understand you 100%! I've dealt with depression my whole life since my teens!keep doing these great things for the community 👏 👏
Thank you so much!
connecting with this so much of this <3 congrats on your year of stability and working thru so much. you did it!! (-:
for the strangers thing, i try coming in like "omg i don't know anyone else here how do y'all know each other" introduction, and follow up with something silly and thoughtful like, "have you ever thought about what your curse is? mine is getting stuck in seatbelt child locks. it happens every time i get into a car." and see if that vibes with them, haha.
Omg thank you for your suggestion!! I will try this out and come up with some weird question to ask everybody. Now I'm thinking about what my curse would be... Maybe always getting hit in the head by balls in the park!
omg i'm so sorry for your curse!! if it helps a fun follow-up question to get people back into funny moods has been like "ok what is your blessing!" a little harder to pin down but i think mine is that there's always someone around to help if i need it. <:
Thanks for this. I’ve struggled with depression for more than 30 years and sometimes it’s overwhelming. Lately it’s been very hard to deal with but reading this comic has helped :)
idk if u can tell but I’m reading through all your Substack posts rn because everything you say resonates with me deeply, whether it’s silly and humorous, or very touching like this comic. I relate to people often but it’s been awhile since I’ve felt like I was reading my own thoughts but coming from someone else O__O I just recently got out of a depressive episode and I create very happy art too so it was a tough time navigating that. I’m glad we are both stable now!! :D yay haha
Wow thank you so much!! This is so incredibly sweet of you, and I am so happy to hear that you can relate to all my little posts. It's so wonderful to hear that you are doing well now, it's nice to get some fresh air out of the ocean. :)
Thank you so much for sharing and following up on your story a year later! It's super helpful and very inspiring. I've been there and I am also in recovery, still on meds, but feeling better and finally fit for life. And you said something there that really resonates with me something about "feel like myself again". It's almost like we forget who we are and get in to this seemly endless black hole. I reciprocate and I am so happy to know and fell that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we are both going on that direction. All the best, Lian. Keep it up! =)
So happy to hear that we're both heading in the right direction! Wishing you lots of love and happy thoughts to come.
Thank you for sharing this; I’m currently on short term disability and have been feeling pretty useless, having to ask for financial help from family makes it worse too. I’m on a homestead I just purchased and with winter lasting so long am not able to work on any of the manual labor tasks I find fulfilling. But tomorrow will always come and be filled with new problems to fix <3
Oh i'm so sorry to hear about your current situation! It's the worst and honestly winter just makes everything worse. I'm wishing you a very speedy recovery so you can get back to the things you love!! It's also a good time to just take it easy on yourself I've found, there's a reason that animals hibernate during the winter. Take some time to enjoy the slowness and quiet!
Wow, thank you so much for sharing this. It’s really so brave of you. It’s very inspiring to think of the power in slow and steady progress even when it’s hard to keep going, the pay off when you reflect back on how far you’ve come is so rewarding. I’m a new reader here and just love your drawings and newsletter so much. So happy you’re feeling better, sounds like you’ve worked really hard. Here’s to many more years of progress, thanks for all you do💖
Thank you so much! I'm so happy to hear that you're enjoying the newsletter. You're so right about how progress can be slow, it's just like watching a plant grow. It doesn't move when you're watching it intently but when you come back in a couple months you see all the growth!
I have never read anything that describes my experience with depression and anxiety so accurately (and illustrated so wonderfully). This comic brought me a lot of hope as I work on keeping myself from drowning again. Thank you so much for sharing and congrats on a year of success!
Thank you so much for your kind words. It's definitely been eye opening to realize that so many other people out there are feeling the exact same way I was feeling. I believe in you and trust me it'll get better slowly!!
Thanks for sharing this story and congratulations on building your boat ⛵
Thank you so much for sharing this!
I have only just found my float and starting to build a raft out but this is such a helpful piece for me, not just in terms of mental health, but also in illustration. 💛
Oh this is so wonderful to hear! I'm so happy you've started to build your raft, congratulations to you! The hardest part is getting out and it'll slowly get easier and easier :)
It feels like it’s been a long time coming, I’ve struggled since I was a teen but been fully at sea since 2020. I’m now 35 and finally getting life back on the track I want it on!
that's such wonderful news!! i think everyone's life went off the rails in 2020 for good reason. It feels good to be back on track :)