About Me

Hello Everyone! My Name is Arielle ( Yes like the little Mermaid!). Fun fact: I was not named after the little mermaid. I was born about 6 months before the movie was released. I was named after a character on my Mother's favorite soap General Hospital. I would like to tell you a little bit about my journey with depression and how I have found different way's to combat my ups and downs.

I have struggled with acceptance of myself since I was a teenager. As most people will attest to teenagers are not the nicest people we know. I was called vest girl and five head due to my fashion choices and my (allegedly) abnormally sized forehead. I never thought about suicide in those days I simply wished I did not exists in my world. Any who I put on about 20 pound my junior year in high due to the stress of SAT's and applying for colleges. I tried college and it just wasn't for me. I was not focused on school the way I should have been and I decided that I wanted to join the military.

I went to the Air Force recruiter and within a months time I was off to San Antonio Texas for Basic training. It was a difficult process for me. It was my first time away from home with no family. I struggled through basic and lost about 30 pounds. I was at my lightest in about 3 years and I was feeling a great sense of accomplishment. I was about to embark on a journey that most people would never consider. I was serving my country. After basic I was sent to tech school where I met my husband. He became my best friend! He always made sure that if I doubted myself I knew just how amazing I was and reminded me of all that I have accomplished and overcome. 2 years and a deployment later I was pregnant with our first child and I decided that it would be best to get out and stay at home with our baby. Five years of marriage we were three kids deep.

After my oldest was born I went through a phase where I was miserable to be around. I did not want to get up and do anything. I had some good days when the whole house would be spotless all meals were cooked and I was in a good mood. Unfortunately those days were far and few between. My husband left for Iraq and we left on such horrible terms. I did not leave the house or base for about four months while he was gone. I went to get food for the house and then I was home until my next trip for food. I went to the doctor and they told me that I was suffering from Postpartum depression. He said that chances of this happening to people who already suffer from depression prior to having kids increases. He prescribed me medication and sent me on my way. They explained no other options other than "take these pills for -6-8 weeks and then come see me for a check up"needless to say I was not very good at taking the pills and never made progress.

I soon made some friends and started to get out a little bit I figured for the sake of my child I should meet other people who have kids so he would have someone to hang out with. I met this amazing women. She was on a fitness journey and had lost 30 pounds. She convinced me to start running with her. Then we got into using workout dvd's. Next thing you know i'm down a total of 60 pounds in about a year. I was so excited about my weight loss. I then got pregnant back to back with my two youngest kids and put most of the weight back on. I went through a dark period and ruined some relationships due to my depression.

My husband got out the military and decided he wanted to be a personal trainer. It clicked to me that what I needed to do was to get back in shape. Working out has always made me feel good and it was time to get back into it. However my husband then decided that he wanted to take up massage so he was too busy to train me. I decided I was going to go to school to be a personal trainer myself. That school helped me so much. I did not shed pounds like I did in the past but I was still feeling great. My clothes were fitting differently and that is all that matter to me. 

Learning about myself and what worked for me took me years to figure out. It cost me some friends and a few family members that I had to apologize to but I now know when i'm not doing well and the steps I need to take to make sure I do not fall into a black hole. working with my doctor, Keeping track of my triggers, and working out made all the difference in my life.