Progress Not Perfection

My journey to heal depression, anxiety, and OCD

by Jennifer Garam

Afraid to Take My New iPhone Out of the Box

My new iPhone came in the mail a few weeks ago. I told my sister that it had arrived, and the next day she IM-ed me to see how I liked it.

"I haven't used it yet," I wrote. "It's still in the box."

"Like your Cabbage Patch Kids?" she wrote back, just as I was in the middle of typing "Like my Cabbage Patch Kids." Read More

I Took Antidepressants to Feel Better and Wound Up Feeling Much Worse

Last year, I went to a psychiatrist for the first time because I was sick of feeling like I was constantly getting knocked down with depression and anxiety. On top of that, what I'd thought of as "a few small OCD tendencies" were turning into elaborate rituals that made simple tasks like sending an email or leaving my apartment painfully difficult and time-consuming. Read More

Social Media Makes Me Feel Bad About Myself

When my self-esteem is shaky, which it often is, I have to be careful around social media. On Facebook and Twitter, everything is always wonderful for everyone and all their lives are amazing. Read More

Letting Go of Being Depressed About My Birthday So I Could Enjoy It

On my 25th birthday, my boyfriend took me out to dinner at my favorite dive-y barbecue joint. He gave me a bottle of white wine he'd gotten on his recent trip to the Pacific Northwest, and the sweetest gift ever--a mix CD he'd made of all my favorite songs by Britney, Christina, *NSYNC, D'Angelo, and Sisqo. Read More

I Quit Coffee To Cure My Anxiety

At times, my anxiety spikes so much that I'm motivated to do whatever it takes to lessen it. Even if that means giving up coffee. And did I mention that I really, really love coffee? Like, everything about coffee -- the smell, the taste, the ritual, the warmth of the cup in my hands, the feeling of joy in my heart when I take that first sip. Read More

It's OK To Be Selfish

I recently heard someone say that when you feel like you are lacking, you should give to others. This is a spiritual principle that gets tossed around a lot, the logic being that it sends the message to the Universe that you believe in abundance rather than scarcity, and therefore sets you up to receive future abundance. Read More

I Was Diagnosed with OCD

Sitting on the couch at my first ever visit to a psychiatrist last summer, I took a deep breath. What had brought me to her office was a recent bout of depression where I couldn't stop crying while I was washing the dishes, followed by a panic attack where I could barely eat or leave my apartment for days. Read More