Mindy McGinnis, author of A Madness So Discreet

For many people, creativity and depression go hand in hand. Becoming a published writer has been an interesting experience in so many ways, but the most touching is meeting people who get it. I’ve never been ashamed of dealing with depression, but in writing communities I have the support of people who know that a casual “cheer up,” or teasing “get out of the wrong side of the bed today?” can do much more damage than good. If it were as simple as cheering up, believe me, I’d do it, and if I could pinpoint the cause to something such as the geographical location of where I wake up, I’d change it.

Much like the inspiration for our books or songs, most creatives can’t tell you where our depression comes from. The only source is the jumble of chemicals in our brain that mixed badly on any given day, a toxic soup we can’t easily toss out to whip up a new batch. The writing community has been invaluable to me in so many ways, both as a support group for mental illness and to help maneuver the ups and downs of a forever undulating industry that, in some ways, feeds the beast.

But in the end my creativity and depression feed off each other. So I wouldn’t trade it—or the community I’ve found.