Photography and Mental Illness, you hear those things and don't think they go together.

However, for me, they do. In late 2015 I started seriously getting into photography in the months after I had been diagnosed with BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) and Depression.

I was told to not talk too much about my BPD by a lot of people, but I refuse to not because it is a part of me, just like photography. Photography had always been a love of mine deep down, but little did I know how much it would actually help me emotionally when I treated it like it was a best friend of mine that I had known forever.

I now see the light at the end of the tunnel that was difficult to see before.

Not only do I notice a difference, but my friends and family do too. I am happier, healthier and more confident than I have ever been in my entire life. It has lessened my anxiety and when I do feel anxious I can just pick up my camera and instantly feel better.

Being diagnosed with BPD was something I did not expect at all. When my Psychiatrist told me that I had BPD and Depression, I felt my heart sink and shatter into a million pieces; not only was I lost, but I was in the dark.

At least that is how I felt at that time.

Little did I know that photography would soon save me from feeling like this forever. At the time, I didn't know what to do, but photography did. It saved me from my life and feeling like I was going nowhere fast. I now see the light at the end if the tunnel, except, in this case, the tunnel is a lens.

I learned that the better the lens, the better the outlook. That means everything, considering my lens is my life and I now have a better outlook on life.

At a time when everything was going down hill fast, I found photography and I couldn't feel or be more blessed about it. Plus, I have friends who are always down for a free photo shoot.

Having Depression and BPD brought much confusion and sadness into what would be coming in the future for me with all my psychiatrist, therapist and doctors appointments that were in store for me. I didn't know what to expect and that was scary to me.

I was lucky to have people in my life who supported me, but even then sometimes I felt like I was lost in a world that I felt I didn't belong in. This being said I found it easier to realize that picking up a camera and shooting pictures of random people or things was an escape from the world I was living in.

As soon as my depression would kick in I knew exactly what I needed to do: pick up a camera.

Now when I'm sad, I pick up a camera and I am happier, and I will remain happier.

Photography is a part of me, photography is my everything.