Tag: mental illness

Butters, My Extraordinary Friend and Secret Weapon to Conquer Depression

Butters helped ease the weight of the experience of a person with depression

10/23/2015 – 10/28/2025

I will always be grateful for your emotional support

Owning this dog was one of the most profound experiences of my life, but it started as nothing more than a crazy idea. When the idea to buy a puppy was introduced to me by my then-fiancé, it was a half-joke. The timing was awful. I’d recently finished school and moved in with my parents a few months before – buying a brand new puppy, bringing it into my parents house, and expecting them to take care of it for me while we went to work the whole day? Ridiculous.

If you spend enough time thinking about how to turn a ridiculous idea into reality though, it eventually stops sounding ridiculous, and a few weeks later, we were puppy shopping for a Golden Retriever.

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Posted on by Sean Thoreby 0

What I Would Tell Teenage Me

Even children can be resilient and full of courage

A letter from a mental health blogging dad to his 13-year-old self

  • Contains adult language

Dear 13 year-old Sean,

Hello from the year 2023. Flying cars don’t exist yet, but cell phones went through a transformation. Now, they’re called “smart-phones,” and they’re more sophisticated than Dad’s computer downstairs. My phone can read me text messages aloud and control the lighting in the house. The football player Michael Strahan has visited space – for a fucking vacation! And future you? I’m full-on adulting at 35 years old! Don’t fret, it’s more exciting than it sounds. 

We’re living a fulfilling life. And Spoiler alert: fatherhood with your two little girls is a beautiful adventure. A wild ride is ahead of you, friend. The ride will be bumpy, and there will be times it goes too fast and terrifies you. There will be times you’ll feel ready to do anything to make it stop. But – I wouldn’t change my story if I could, because it has shaped me into the man I am proud to be today.

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Posted on by Sean Thoreby 0