Thank you for sharing. I have had a few bouts with depression, and they are absolutely dreadful. The faux-happy persona so many people work so hard to project

Thank you for sharing. I have had a few bouts with depression, and they are absolutely dreadful. The faux-happy persona so many people work so hard to project is extremely tiring, and mediums like Facebook only serve to indirectly perpetuate the stigma that mental illness is a rare thing. One thing I became very good at from my episodes is being able to tell who is actually nice, and who just plays nice. There's a huge difference in these types of individuals. If you're susceptible to mental illness, you don't want ANYTHING to do with the latter category. Not being able to do this caused a lot of heartache. I am me because of mental illness. I would not wish anyone to go through it, but I wouldn't remove it. It's made me much more empathetic, kind, and helped to focus on things far more important than the cheap trinkets of power that most people fall for.