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EMILY PRATT
About Me
Hey everyone! My name is Emily and I suffer from anxiety as well as major depressive disorder. I have suffered with anxiety from the early age of 9 years old and it has only gotten more severe since my dual diagnosis at 15. I was diagnosed with both anxiety and major depressive disorder at the age of 15 after a failed suicide attempt. I was and still am very secretive with my emotions. High school and social events seemed challenging for me as I was overwhelmed easily by busy environments. Following my diagnosis, I was medicated throughout the remainder of my high school years for my mood disorders, and it seemed to have made some progress. My self-harming tendencies fell dormant as well. After graduating high school in 2018, I attended college and graduated from Police Foundations in June of 2020 and since then have worked as a Correctional Officer (CO). With the new stress and responsibilities that came with my new job as a CO, my mood disorders that had seemed to have been dormant since my grade 12 year, surfaced again and were worse than ever. I recently left my job as a correctional officer as per medical advice from my doctor and moved home to my hometown of Shediac Cape. Over the years, I’ve been told many times to “just take a happy pill” but as we all know, mental health is not that simple. A late-night conversation between Maggie and I sparked the idea for our Happy Pill Project as we had shared stories of our mutual struggles. We challenge you to find your “Happy Pill” in life.
MAGGIE BELLEMARE
About Me
Hi everyone! My name is Maggie and I suffer with anxiety as well as depression. I am a student athlete that thrives on hard work and competition. While Covid did not cause my depression, the lack of consistency of school, sports and social interactions seemed to amplify it. I have been struggling with my mental health since middle school, but over the past year I have hit an all-time low. The past year I have found myself overwhelmed with online schooling, trying to pick a University, and the uncertainty of everything. When my usual outlets weren’t there to relieve the stress, I found myself spiraling and ended up at the hospital. I am working hard every day and the medication seems to help but I am a work in progress. I am seeing slight differences every day and trying to stay positive. Over the challenging times I have been told to just be “happy” to “take a happy pill” or “shake it off”, these statements only made things worse. I was very good at hiding and disguising my true emotions and played the part of an athlete, student, friend, daughter and sister.
One late night conversation between Emily and I we realized how far we still need to come with Mental Heath awareness and came up with the Happy Pill Project. We started this brand to tell people they are not alone and to help people discover their own Happy Pill in life. It’s OK to not be OK, and the stigma surrounding mental health needs to stop.