Photo taken by contributor Carrie Hilgert, a photographer, painter, and healer from Northeast Kansas. Carrie is on an evolving journey. In her past, she was affected by chronic physical and mental illnesses, including depression. Photography, especially self-portraiture, was a tool that helped her throughout those challenging times, and allowed her to process her dark feelings. Carrie believes that her experiences with mental illness were a catalyst for her to discover her creative and spiritual gifts. She is now on a positive journey of wonder and change, using those gifts to help others.

About this photo: “I’ve been away taking care of me. I’m doing ok but still going through some deep processes and reevaluating how things are going to go from this point forward. Because the way they’ve been going have not been working.”

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