PeonyMagazine

  There was a time when people knew me as the big time money spender. I was the person who didn’t think twice about spending. I could go out anytime, order what I wanted, help when needed. I carried myself with confidence, and from the outside, it looked like I had things figured out. I had a good  career , a steady income, and a version of myself that felt reliable. Then life hit me in a way I never saw coming. Depression  and  anxiety  slowly crept in, tied to problems I didn’t know how to face yet. What started as exhaustion became heaviness. What started as  stress  turned into days where simply getting up felt like a battle. I tried to push through, telling myself to be strong, to be grateful, to  keep going. But eventually, I broke.  I gave up my career during that season. At the time, it felt like the only way to survive. I thought rest would heal me, that stepping away would give me clarity. What I didn’t realize was how hard it would...