So. This is me. Lena.

I am a historian at heart, a journalist by trade, and am on the tail end of what could politely be termed a "psychiatric event."

I've lived with depression and anxiety for over a decade, and for the first time, I attended an intensive outpatient program.

Basically, I "committed" myself.

One of the things that I did as part of working on myself was start a sort of art therapy journal, drawing in a sketchbook that I had laying around. I told myself that I would finish my sketchbook by the time that I finished the IOP.

To my surprise, I succeeded.

I am starting this blog to continue this commitment to myself, and give myself a place to put my art.For the first month or so, I plan to post one picture a day, Monday through Friday, until I have posted all of the pictures that I drew while attending the IOP.

After I have posted all of my completed pictures, I plan to post at least two pictures per week.

Important note:

I am not always a happy person, and much of the past few months' art was drawn while in a very unhealthy mental space. I shall endeavor to mark images with trigger warnings, but it is important to note that these images may not be appropriate for children, work, and school, and these images may trigger personal stressors and unhealthy thoughts or behaviors.

If you need help and you are in the US:

988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be reached by phone and SMS at 988, and online chat at 988lifeline.org.
Crisis Text Line can be reached by SMS at 741741 and crisistextline.org.
SAMHSA's National Helpline can be reached by SMS at 435748, by phone at 1-800-662-4357, and TTY for deaf and hoh at 1-800-487-4889. Their website is samhsa.gov.

In Canada:

Talk Suicide Canada can be reached in English and French by SMS at 45645, by phone at 1-833-456-4566, and at talksuicide.ca.
Kids Help Phone can be reached in English and French by SMS at 686868, by phone at 1-800-668-6868, and at kidshelpphone.ca.

In Mexico:

SAPTEL can be reached by phone at 555-259-8121 and online at saptel.org.mx.
Linea de la Vida can be reached by phone at 800-911-2000, and online at gob.mx.

Outside of North America:

Befrienders Worldwide, a global suicide prevention network, has contact information for over 90 centers in 48 countries at befrienders.org.
Lifeline International, another global suicide prevention network, has contact information for 200 centers in 23 countries at lifeline-intl.com.