Day 29- Even Famous People Have Issues

In the beginning of my anxiety I felt like I was the only one dealing with it. The more I talked about it though, the more it seemed like everybody was dealing with it. Not only anxiety, but depression as well. The more I looked up information about these issues I found out that a lot of well-known people dealt with issues of depression and anxiety. Let me see how many people you know on this list?

Angelina Jolie, Christina Ricci, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Zach Braff, Mandy Moore, Kylie Minogue, Bryce Dallas Howard, Uma Thurman, Demi Lovato, Sheryl Crow, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jon Hamm, Princess Diana, Abraham Lincoln, Anne Hathaway, Judy Garland, Ashley Judd, Pete Wentz, Sir Winston Churchill, Buzz Aldrin, Sir Isaac Newton, Mark Twain, Teddy Roosevelt, Dolly Parton, Owen Wilson, Halle Berry, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jim Carrey, Brooke Shields, Drew Carey, Billy Joel, and Rosie O'Donnell. How many people did you know on this list?

One person that I was both surprised and inspired to see on this was J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series. I was surprised because every time I have seen her in interviews she seemed to have everything together. I was also kind of excited because like most people my age I LOVE the Harry Potter series. I own every book, read every book, own every movie, and seen every movie. I could probably read each book and see each movie 100 times and still want to do it all over again. It was inspiring to see someone I admire and like who has dealt with similar issues as me.

After reading that J.K. Rowling suffered from depression it was interesting to read that writing the series helped to pull her out of it, and that she even integrated her experience into her books as characters. For those of you who haven't read the books or seen the movies there are characters called Dementors, which she specifically created to show how depression made her feel. The Dementors are dark hooded creatures who suck all the happiness and joy out of their victims, as well as detect a person's secret fears. Ultimately they can change a person's entire personality. She has also integrated specific messages of hope into her books. One of my personal favorites is actually the background on my computer that I see every day.

What I hope you can take away from this is that 1.) You are not alone; there are tons of people out there, well-known and in your inner circle, going through the same thing as you. You just have to be brave enough to show and talk about it. 2.) Beautiful things can come out of these issues we are dealing with; all these people I listed above achieved great things both during and after their battles. 3.) This is just a phase and things will get better.

Day 29- Thing I Love to Do......Hug my parents.