Maddy Creates -

This is Depression

This is my life with depression. It was undiagnosed for a long time, and still remains something friends and family mentally eye roll about. “You’re not depressed, you’re always laughing and joking.” “You have nothing to be depressed about.” Go outside, spend time with your friends, stop reading so many books. Try not to be so depressed.

Believe me, I wish my life could be as happy as the moment Alan and Ellie see living, breathing dinosaurs for the first time in Jurassic Park. The music swells and they just stare in disbelief and wonder, and you feel so happy.
But that’s not what’s going on inside my head. My head is more like The Park is Closed. Beautiful and unique, but also sad and bittersweet. It’s filled with memories, maybe wiser than it’s time. Maybe too wise. It’s quiet, deep, and dark. It’s hopeless, and so final.

I’ve been unhappy for a long time, and I could never seem to get anyone to take my words seriously. Once, I admitted to my dad that I thought I needed medication. He stopped, and stared at me for a moment, before saying “you really feel that way?” I nodded, but when three people walked into the kitchen – we were having a family gathering at our house, you see – and I was back to normal, smiling and laughing not 30 seconds later. And he never brought it up again. I wanted him to, desperately. If anyone was going to take me seriously, I thought it would be him. But he never asked again.

I apologize a lot. I’m horrible at answering text messages, and I rarely make plans without prompting. Depression can do that to you. Simple things can be an impossible task. I request at least once a day to please just bear with me. I’m trying, I promise.

This blog was meant to be my own form a therapy, but lately it’s been that impossible task. I’ll write half a post, and then editing, creating graphics, and finishing those words just seems like a huge, daunting nightmare. It’s not, but man does it look rough from over here.
So I’m asking and entire world of people who may stumble across this post, and these words. Please bear with me.

January 5, 2019

Get yourself ready for fall with some of our favorite summer products!

Home, Life

Maddy Creates’ Favorite Things: Summer Edition!

Hello friends! With summer coming to an end and fall in the air, it’s the perfect time to do some fall shopping! Yes, I promise it’s a thing. To give you some inspiration, check out my favorite things from the first half of 2017.

September 4, 2017

The Written Word

Mini Update

Hey guys,

I’ve been pretty quiet across all platforms lately. Things have just been so overwhelming, I can’t even begin to concentrate on any of my projects. I’m still here, and I’m still writing, but things just aren’t falling together like they need to.

I write bits and pieces of posts daily. Sometimes it’s just a title and a few sentences. Sometimes it’s just an idea. Sometimes I just write the first thing that comes into my mind late at night, and none of it makes sense in the morning. But I have a few good posts going from it!

I thought I had escaped the insanity that is retail for the holidays. But it turns out, working at a privately owned dog kennel is just as bad for Thanksgiving/Christmas! There’s a lot of changes happening and a lot of pressure on us to do an infitine number of things all at once. I’ve been house sitting through the Rover app for extra holiday cash, which is going great! I’ll have more on that in the next couple of weeks.

Expect to hear more from me with 2017 quickly approaching. I hope you’re as excited as I am to see what comes out of the coming year.

How do you keep your flow going during rough times? Leave some tips for me in the comments. I can use all the help I can get!

December 8, 2016

Life

17 Before 2017 Challenge

I, for one, can’t believe how quickly this year has gone by. Really, it feels like it was just a couple of months ago when the year began! But today is the first day of SEPTEMBER. If you’re like me, you had good intentions for the year. You promised yourself you’d start on a good note. You’d exercise more, eat healthier, put more time into your blog, spend more time with your family, etc. Sometimes these things actually do work out, and if they did for you this year, congrats! Sometimes, however, we fall flat. Now, I won’t say I fell flat. I worked my butt off. But there’s still a lot left to do. So I’ve decided to truly challenge myself. And I want to challenge you, too.

September 1, 2016

Practical Preparedness Series: Creating a Go Bag

Organization, Preparedness

Practical Preparedness: How to Create a Go Bag

Welcome to our final week of our Emergency Preparedness series. Our final post is going to be covering the go bag. These handy kits have gained a lot of popularity in the last few years, and for a good reason. Imagine there’s a flash flood in your area and you’re forced to evacuate. You have a very short time to get the belongings you need and leave your home. What do you pack?

Did that take a minute to figure out? Of course! Now imagine you also have small children to pack for, and someone in your family has special needs, allergies, or dietary restrictions. If I was to take off in an emergency and forget my inhaler at home, I might not survive.

June 29, 2016

Organization, Preparedness

Practical Preparedness: Creating an Emergency Pet Kit

For those of you who aren’t already painfully aware, my dogs are kind of my life. They just turned 6 years old last month, and they just complete me. I rescued them as puppies, and it’s ridiculous how spoiled they are. So when I started researching this whole prepping business, I kept wondering to myself, “what do people do to prep for their animals?” Surely, an emergency pet kit must be a thing, right? Continue Reading

June 22, 2016

Practical Preparedness: Creating a Storm Kit. Useful storm kit for staying safe during storms, flooding, and power outages.

Organization, Preparedness

Practical Preparedness: Creating an Emergency Car Kit

Welcome back! I don’t know about you, but I’ve been having fun so far with the Practical Preparedness Series. I’ve even been motivated to take on my big task I’ve been putting off for almost a year — my 72 hour kit. This week we’re talking about creating an emergency car kit. These kits are small, inexpensive to prepare, and possibly the most useful of all the kits we’ll be talking about this month. Disclaimer: I am not a prepping expert. I would still consider myself a beginner. I merely intend to share my experiences and [limited] knowledge in order to help others prep on a budget. Continue Reading

June 15, 2016

Organization, Preparedness

Practical Preparedness: Creating a Storm Kit

With spring in full swing and summer just around the corner, it’s time for the storms to start rolling in. Literally. With them these storms bring flooding, power outages, and other dangerous situations that could leave you stranded in your house without the basic necessities we’ve become so accustomed to. It’s important to have some basic preparations at home in order to keep yourself and your family safe in the event of a flood, hurricane, or tornado. By having a storm kit on hand, you’re preparing for the worst in the best possible way. Disclaimer: I am not a prepping expert. I would still consider myself a beginner. I merely intend to share my experiences and [limited] knowledge in order to help others prep on a budget.

June 8, 2016

Organization, Preparedness

Practical Preparedness: 3 Tips to Budget Your Preps

One of the most common concerns people have with prepping is the cost. It can add up. Shows like Doomsday Preppers show people who have spent millions to stock, fortify, and even build “bug out” locations. Fortunately, we’re here to talk about practical preparedness. Prepping, if done correctly, is not only easy to do but affordable! Disclaimer: I am not a prepping expert. I would still consider myself a beginner. I merely intend to share my experiences and [limited] knowledge in order to help others prep on a budget.

June 1, 2016

Organization, Preparedness

Why I Prep: A Guide to Practical Preparedness

prep·pingˈ. noun.

The practice of making active preparations for a possible catastrophic disaster or emergency, typically by stockpiling food, ammunition, and other supplies.

The word prepper is a very slippery slope. As soon as I bring up the word in casual conversation with new people I get that look. Expressions can say a lot, and this one says ‘nut job.’ I get questions; what do you think is going to happen? Zombies? What do you stockpile? Why? Continue Reading

May 22, 2016

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