Meredith
Meredith
You never know what people are going through
Depression can impact anyone, at any time. But for Meredith, the episodes were cyclical—and severe.
I went deeper into depression around when I got my period. I would end up in the hospital because I would be suicidal—taking pills and cutting.
In fact, between the ages of 16 and 19, Meredith was hospitalized seven times. Surprisingly, it wasn’t a doctor who first put the puzzle pieces together, but a hospital social worker.
She recognized the pattern and started researching it like crazy. I consider her to be the one who saved my life.
Meredith had a condition that was just being recognized in medical circles—premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)—a severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
Symptoms such as fatigue, sadness, anxiety, and irritability—along with breast tenderness, changes in sleep and eating—begin between seven and ten days prior to a monthly period and last a few days into menstruation.
There are a lot of women out there who have this issue, and they don’t even know what it is.
Once diagnosed, doctors suggested a logical tactic—stopping Meredith’s periods.
She receives an injection of Depo-Provera, known as the birth control shot, every three months. The medication contains the hormone progestin, which suppresses ovulation.
That medication really helps. It not only brings down my PMS symptoms, it saves me from making dangerous decisions.
She also sees a therapist every other week, a practice she had stopped for a while, but started up again last year when she learned that the social worker who made such an impact on her life had taken her own life.
Meredith says the news still hurts to this day.
But she is proud that she herself will graduate in a few months with her own degree in social work—Meredith’s chance to give another young person what she received in a hospital bed not long ago—hope.
People don’t know there are resources out there. I don’t want anyone to feel alone.
