I was quickly placed on birth control without much question/concern at the age of 15 years old for the purposes of acne. I stayed on and off of every pill available on the market at the time, but every time I ended up becoming horribly depressed, anxious, and generally unstable. No matter which one they put me on, it always happened at some point within no more than 6 months. Finally, I took a break at about age 21 and for the first time in years, it felt like a cloud had parted. Years later, I would end up becoming diagnosed with chronic/major depression anyway. But I will always remember that feeling the first time I felt completely clear minded for the first time in a very, very long time and it was when I finally stopped switching from pill to pill and was completely hormone free. I’m certain that my early twenty-something lifestyle is a factor as well, but currently struggling with major depression I often wonder if I would have the same chemical imbalance, to the same extent as I do now, had I never put such strong and mysterious hormones into my body at such a young age when I was still actively developing both physically and mentally. Today I struggle with alternative non-hormonal birth control but have yet to find anything that keeps my depression at bay. I tried the non-hormonal IUD and had horrible periods and an incredibly painful experience all around so I am pretty much forced to either choose the pull out method, or to take hormones that destroy me emotionally. For years I have chosen the pull out method but now I have started to experience severe cramping and PMS so have been reconsidering a low hormone birth control. I’m praying that now that I am diagnosed and treated for my depression with an antidepressant that perhaps it will keep my depression at least the same. Or perhaps after years being hormone-free, maybe my body will respond differently. Regardless, I empathize with every other women out there struggling with these issues, especially those who are far worse than mine because this is far from the worst problem to have. But I hope the more we collectively voice our concerns, the more we are heard, and the more change will come. Maybe one of these days the tides will turn and there will be more money and funding dedicated to women’s health and research to finally achieve the universal health and wellness that all women deserve.