Matt Powers Won't Leave Your Driveway

conorjamesmckeon:

“When you ain’t got nothin’, you got nothin’ to lose”

Bob Dylan, Like A Rolling Stone

      On October 11^th, 2011, at 11:06 pm EST, I had an anxiety attack. Then, a few minutes later, I had an epiphany.

      Several days later I quit the job I’d spent the previous 2 years of my life pursuing; a full-time comedy writing gig with full health benefits during the least stable economy since the Great Depression. I have yet to regret that decision. I doubt I ever will. It saved my career and, as long as we’re being honest with each other, my life.

      My epiphany was not the lilting, radiant beam I’d gathered from artistic interpretations, but rather a blunt, downward, cerebral thud, induced by the sudden realization of a simple truth: The root cause of most every problem I’ve encountered in my post-pubescence could be traced back to the clinical anxiety with which I was diagnosed at age 15. Simple as that. Everything should be so easy.

      I spent the next 4 days writing. What follows is the abridged version. 

      My hope is that my story falls not on sympathetic ears, but empathetic ones. If you’ve ever endured anxiety, depression, or addiction, I hope you’ll consider reading further. I wish someone had written this 10 years ago. I’m 25 now, and I think I’ll be okay. If even the tiniest morsel resonates, and if reading this helps you come to the same conclusion about yourself, then it’ll have been worth it.

So anyways…

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When I finished reading this I realized I had no idea how long I had been reading it. Well written and well done.