Never Quit by McKenna Jean

Description (by McKenna Jean)
It is true that you can't love someone out of a disorder; however, it is also true that your love can encourage them to keep fighting even in the darkest hour when a better future seems impossible.

I used to have panic disorder with agoraphobia. I struggled with it for many years; during the worst years, I was terrified to leave the house, sometimes even the room I was in. Some days, I would be in a constant state of high-level anxiety. Going places, meeting friends, eating, sleeping: all were mutated into trying tasks under the veil of anxiety.

Now, I only experience (much milder) symptoms occasionally. I have conquered the anxiety. I have taught myself how to accept it and move on, not to let it scare me into inaction. I have, essentially, been my own therapist.

The objects featured in this photo were gifts: the cross pendant, from my Grandma, and the paper weight, from my mom. Both gifts were daily reminders during the hardest times that I owed it to myself not to give in or give up.


(PS: The background is a printout from the DSM-IV-TR that I acquired in my recent abnormal psychology class.)