Sometimes I get so deep inside my own head that I don't remember that others are also suffering. Some with mental illness like me, and some in other ways. (You can see my story in the post My Mental Health Story: A Timeline or on The OCD Stories website.)
Whenever I have been in the suffering valley, God has always rescued me and comforted me throughout the season of suffering. And even though mental illness is still a daily struggle for me, I am not without hope.
The purpose of this blog is to candidly share my struggles and victories with mental illness as a Christ-follower. I want blogging to help me grow personally and to help fellow sufferers along their own journeys. In order to accomplish this, I am blogging under the pen name "A.J. Michaels." The only other person who knows the true identity of A.J. Michaels is my husband. Writing under a pen name allows me to write more honestly about my mental illness than if I used my real name. I'm not quite ready to share these thoughts with people in my every day life - maybe eventually, but not yet.
I do look forward to walking this journey together with you.
God bless,
AJ
