08/19/2026
I’ve shared pieces of why I started Calm & Crafted, but I don’t think I’ve ever shared the whole truth behind it.
And the truth isn’t pretty.
There was a point when I had fallen so far into depression that I could tell within a week that I had lost weight simply because I hadn’t eaten. Not because I was trying not to eat. I just didn’t feel hungry. I didn’t feel thirsty. I didn’t feel much of anything.
I was numb.
We’re always told, “If you’re struggling, reach out to someone.”
And while that is so important, I don’t think we talk enough about what happens when you’re so buried in depression that you don’t even have the energy to reach out. When talking feels exhausting. When explaining what’s going on inside your head feels impossible. When you know you need help, but even asking for it feels like more than you can do.
I’ve been to different therapists. I’ve been on and off medication for years. And more than once, I was told to find a hobby—something I enjoyed that could help me cope.
But when you’re sitting underneath that black cloud, sometimes you think, How the hell am I supposed to just start a hobby?
Eventually, I bought a candle-making kit.
And then it sat there.
Time went by. And more time went by.
Until one day, I wasn’t as depressed.
Not magically better. Not healed. Just… a little less buried.
And for the first time in a while, I actually wanted to try something.
I told my husband that I wished I hadn’t thrown away that candle-making kit.
This man disappeared for a minute and came back carrying it.
The kit I thought I had thrown away.
He had saved it.
Somehow, he knew to hold onto it for me until I was ready.
And that little candle-making kit became the beginning of Calm & Crafted.
For a long time, I had no problem advocating for other people struggling with their mental health. Anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts—I wanted people to know they weren’t alone. I would show up for them, listen to them, and remind them that their mental health mattered.
But somewhere along the way, I realized I wasn’t doing the same thing for myself.
I was taking care of everyone around me while neglecting the person inside my own head who needed care, too.
I’m still learning. I still have hard days. But I’ve learned more about how to cope, how to recognize when that dark cloud is getting closer, and how to keep myself from becoming completely lost inside of it.
Recently, someone told me, “You hide your depression so well.”
And that has stuck with me.
Because how many people do we see every single day who are really good at hiding it?
How many people are laughing, working, parenting, helping everyone else, showing up, and looking completely “fine” while fighting something inside themselves that nobody can see?
Today, I’m seeing a therapist. I’m taking medication. And right now, I feel like I’m in a good place with my mental health.
I’m not ashamed to say any of that.
Calm & Crafted was never just about making things that smell good.
It started because creating something gave me a little bit of joy during a time when joy was really hard for me to find.
And I decided that if something I created could bring even a small amount of that same comfort, calm, or happiness to somebody else, then maybe I could turn one of the darkest parts of my life into something meaningful.
We spend so much time making sure the people around us are taken care of that sometimes we forget to ask ourselves:
What do I need?
Take care of yourself, too.
Talk about your mental health. Go to therapy. Take the medication if you and your healthcare provider decide it’s right for you. Find the thing that brings you a little peace—even if it takes you months to finally pick it up.
And if all you can manage right now is getting through today, that matters too.
Mental health really does matter.
And Calm & Crafted will always be my reminder of that. 🤍
