My dentist saved my life.
It's true. The last few years have been rough, moving across country, adjusting to a new culture, a new career, and working with students who exhibit extreme negative behaviors due to adverse childhood experiences. I have suffered with depression for a really long time, possibly since my teenage years, but in the fall, I took a nosedive. Actually, when I was thinking about this earlier today, I realized that I was really struggling badly the summer of 2018, and felt emotionally unbalanced. I visited Ohio that summer for my cousin Shane's wedding, and when I was staying with Mark, he encouraged me to seek therapy. I attributed my depression mostly to secondary trauma from working with my students. Christmas of 2018, I cried off and on worrying about one of my students in particular whose parents/family never told him they love him, and he haunted me as I watched my nieces open their presents, knowing that they (thankfully) will never experience the kind of trauma or