Please say a warm hello to first-time contributor Danese. Her mother suffers from severe anxiety and depression, and four years ago one of her children was diagnosed with anorexia. That was just the tip of an iceberg of mental illness that she continues to battle on a daily basis. As Danese was helping her daughter find appropriate treatment, her own depression began to surface. She felt like it was something she had worn like an undergarment all her life. It begged to be heard, and at first, she refused to listen, until its pleadings became so fierce she couldn’t ignore it any more. She listened. She wrote. She photographed.
About this photo: “It was just a few months ago that my photography became a means to explore the sadness I had concealed. I began to take a series of self portraits. This was taken in Valley Forge Park, Pennsylvania, October 2013, in an amazing little cavelike cleft that I happened upon while hiking. It was a painful day, a day of reckoning- change was coming, something my heart and the depression had been trying to provoke for years. This photo was a prelude to some major life/relationship changes that have led me to a happier and healthier place.
Listen to the heart. It never lies. The opening it creates, even when it begins as sorrow and sadness, is a door of transformation and hope.”
Find more from Danese at her blog.
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Broken Light Collective 
Danese…..welcome and thanx for the share. Broken Light is such a great place to share and a place where you never have to explain yourself. As welcome a hearth you can find…….peace & healing to you…..en theos † j
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Thank you j for the warm welcome. I am so grateful to be part of such a kind and compassionate group, each of us doing our best to cope while also encouraging one another. Peace and healing to you, also.
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fully agree with your words. Best wishes for a bright future…MM 🍀
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I appreciate your encouragement MM. Thank you. Love the four leaf clover!
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fabulous photo. And I have been to re-enactments at Valley Forge Park. Wonderful place. I too suffer depression and both my children have had their share of troubles too. The eldest is now recovering 2 years from drug and alcohol issues and my youngest has a learning disability and PTSD from being hit by a car as a pedestrian. It’s hard to keep yourself afloat and keep your children on track when you are hurting so bad inside. Glad to hear that you are doing better. Love the way you described your changes and transformation.
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Paula,
Thank you for your sincere and kind comments- and for sharing your story. It is so nice to connect with someone who understands- this blog is an amazing place to meet compassionate people like you! I hope your children continue to improve (my goodness, you and they have been through so much!) and I especially hope, for you, continued healing, strength, and some huge doses of joy.
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