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Hi! I'm so glad you're here. 

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My name is Mackenzie Yorke and this is a photo of me when I was 12 years old on my first ever plane ride (I was going to Florida with my childhood best friend). It was on this trip that I noticed the dark distancing feeling creeping in on my life. I knew I wanted to enjoy the trip, but alI actually wanted to do was stay inside. It cost energy to smile, I had to pretend like I was having a good time.

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​3 long dark years later, I was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (and Generalized Anxiety Disorder). My family couldn't afford private psychiatry for specialized care, partly because they are overbooked with patients and partly because of the stigma surrounding mental health.  

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I have been mentally ill for over 10 years now, and I want to talk about it. I want people to be able to find my work and join the conversation, so the world can understand mental illnesses, and together we can end the stigma. 

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I have created a blog of my work, describing what it feels like to live in my head.  By sharing my experiences of depression, anxiety, ADHD (diagnosed in 2019), dissociation and depersonalization, I want people to relate, to question, to comment, to understand what it's like to live life mentally ill and neurodivergent.

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You can find my work under the 'muses' tab. I have consulted sources such as  my own journal entries and experiences, responses from anonymous survey participants and other sources (listed under the 'resources' tab). 

 

I wrote my poems, I saw the art in the everyday struggle and I present to you my (incomplete) thesis project for the Creative Writing Program at Concordia University. I'm going to talk about my struggles through poetry. Create a dialogue. You never know who's listening. Or more importantly, who needs to hear this. 

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