Hi, Friends in the Fight,

My name is Emily Levy. I am the CEO and co-founder of Mighty Well and I have struggled with mental health for most of my life, even before I knew what those words meant.

I started off as excessive nail biter in elementary school. By the time I was in middle school, I was deathly afraid of people not washing their hands. In high school, there were two instances where I ended up in the hospital for out of body experiences (which we now know could be related to my chronic neurologic Lyme disease). I even walked out of high school one day, which was uncharacteristically like me – a straight A Honor Roll student and two sport captain. I remember my friends watching me as I walked, whispering about what was going on with their best friend.

Finally, when I was in college, I was diagnosed with chronic neurological Lyme disease and learned that challenges mental health after often part of the disease. Looking back, my anxiety, depression, and  hint of OCD, could have been signs and symptoms of the onset of my neurological Lyme.

Now, at 25, I have my mental health in check. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a daily battle. I take my meds. See my therapist once a week. I practice self-care. But there are plenty of days where the world seems too scary and the only safe place is my bed in the comfort of Netflix.

I want 2019 to be my best year yet. And I want 2019 to be your best year yet. I’ve been thinking a lot about the strategies our community uses to manage their mental health when dealing with a chronic illness, so I thought I’d share some of my own. Here are the methods I’m using to conquer 2019.