Photo taken by contributor Shelby Hall, a mother in her twenties from Dallas, Texas. Before her boys were born, she had a difficult relationship with her now fiancé, in part due to his struggles with drug addiction. Shelby suffered from depression through much of their early relationship as a result of being unable to cope. During that rough time in her life she found herself comforted and consoled by her photography. Shelby’s fiancé is now sober, and they are happy parents together. She loves having her photos to look back on. They read like a timeline and you can see the progressions and pitfalls through them all. They also serve as a reminder of how much stronger she and her fiancé are today.

About this photo: “I’m not sure if this is crazy or not, but I’ve spent a lot of my life trying to separate depression and anxiety from “bad days”. I have been deep in the throws of depression, and found myself an anxious mess on the floor many times; and I don’t know if it’s just me, but there are times I find myself in an inconsolable place for reasons I don’t even know, and immediately made myself feel so much worse by panicking that it’s another hole I’ve fallen into with no idea when I’ll get out. I am trying to find a way to not live in fear of the hole.”

Find more from Shelby at her blog or on Instagram @shelbyhallimages

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