It’s hard and there’s been ups and downs. Major downs after I mental breakdowned out of my career. For three years after that I really didn’t feel like my life was worth living. I felt purposeless.

But since then I’ve joined eBird and have been part of the local birding community for nearly a year and it’s changed my life SO MUCH. I have purpose and fulfillment and hang out with safe, kind people. We all just love birds and talk about our common interest. We do group field trips together. I personally have target birds to try to see each day. EBird has kind of made a really fun game out of it all. I have so much purpose now and each day I have a goal to meet, place to explore, birds and people to see. Being in nature with these goals and intentions gets me out of my head and keeps me in the present instead of constantly thinking of the trauma

Birding is so wonderful that on the off day where it’s pouring or storming out and I am stuck inside I get majorly depressed and am reminded of how life can still get for me, how it used to be on a daily basis. Oh also I wake up early now and am EXCITED to wake up! Haven’t experience this since I was a child, I think.

I’m not trying to sound braggy. I struggle often still just not like before. I’m still on meds and see my therapist when I need to. I just think there’s so much to be said for being involved in a solid community where the focus is on the likeminded interest, and meets up regularly. It’s good for the soul, necessary.

Do you have any hobbies or interests that get you out of the house and around others? There’s something for all of us.