Summary

Amy Hartsough introduces herself as a writer for ILLUMINATION, sharing her journey with mental health and her passion for writing, aiming to be of service through her storytelling.

Abstract

Amy Hartsough is a professional writer who has joined Medium's ILLUMINATION publication. With a background in English and Religion, including seminary studies, she has been writing since 2009 and turned full-time in 2018. Despite facing mental health challenges like depression, anxiety, and a diagnosis of bipolar disorder during her seminary years, Amy has persevered, finishing her education, and building a career in writing. She emphasizes the importance of creating meaning and empathizing with others through her writing, and sees her work as a way to help people and give back to the community. Amy is hopeful about managing her mental health conditions and is committed to making a difference with her words.

Opinions

Amy believes that writing is a way to create meaning and that her educational background in literature and theology has shaped her writing perspective.
She considers herself a writer from the moment she started writing in a college Creative Writing course, reinforced by her professor's encouragement.
Amy views her mental health struggles as a path to developing deeper compassion and empathy for others facing similar challenges.
The diagnosis of bipolar disorder and generalized anxiety disorder was initially shocking and raised existential questions for Amy, but she has learned to manage her conditions and regain a sense of identity.
She is a proponent of the idea that being of service to others is a high calling and finds purpose in potentially helping others through her writing.
Amy values the impact of sharing personal stories, especially regarding mental health, and is motivated by the possibility of making a difference in readers' lives.

I’m Amy Hartsough and I Hope My Story Helps You

Amy Hartsough, image provided by the author.

This story has three parts:

Who I am.
Where I’ve been and some of my struggles.
How I want to be of service to you.

Who is Amy Hartsough?

I’m a new writer for ILLUMINATION, which is what prompted me to write this story. I joined Medium as a reader and writer in July 2020 and I’ve loved connecting with other readers and writers on this platform.

I’ve been writing professionally since 2009, mostly with freelance writing jobs. In 2018, I decided to pursue writing full-time and I’ve never looked back. I still offer freelance writing services and I am excited to continue blogging and writing other projects soon. (Stay tuned!)

My educational background includes a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Religion. I attended seminary even though I didn’t want to be a minister. (I wrote about it here.)

I Went to Seminary But I Didn’t Want to Be a Minister

I wasn’t the only one, but I was one of the few in my program for whom that was true.

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I’ve always been fascinated by how human beings create meaning in our lives — that’s why I studied literature and theology, and it’s why I write.

For a long time, I considered myself an “aspiring writer”. Then I took my first Creative Writing course in college. The professor had just graduated with an M.A. in Writing and Poetics from the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. (That’s a mouthful!)

She was spunky, outgoing, and encouraging. She told us that if we write, that makes us writers. So, it was official in my mind: I was a writer. I had the writing I’d done in class to prove it.

Now, I get to add the term “professional” at the beginning of “writer” if I want to, and I’m happy about that. In my mind, if you make $0.01 doing something, that makes you a professional. (I’ve made more than that, thankfully!)

So, that’s who I am — a writer.

My Struggles

We all have struggles in our lives. They say that suffering creates compassion and in my experience that’s true.

I’ve always been sensitive, but now that I’ve been through some stuff, I can really empathize with people who are facing their own challenging situations.

What happened, you ask? (This is a story about mental health, not trauma.)

I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety for a long time. Then, when I was halfway through my seminary program, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.

My understanding is that sometimes when people receive a mental health diagnosis, it answers some questions for them. It’s as if a missing piece of their lives has finally fallen into place. They have an explanation that fits their experience.

It wasn’t like that for me. Especially with bipolar disorder, the diagnosis seemed to come out of nowhere (though it fit the circumstances at the time). The diagnosis answered some questions about what was happening to me at that very specific time in my life. But it raised larger questions, like:

Now what?
Can I finish school?
Will I be able to work?
Will I ever be able to support myself financially or emotionally?

These questions were terrifying at the time. I felt like I’d lost my identity — I didn’t know who I was anymore. But over time, with help from my family, friends, and professionals, I was able to put the pieces of my life back together. I even finished my master's program.

That was several years ago. Today, I’m still managing my mental illnesses. They’re chronic illnesses and they don’t have a cure. So there’s a good chance I’ll be managing them for the rest of my life.

And I’m okay with that. I’ve learned a lot over the past several years. I’ve picked up a lot of tools and resources along the way. And I’ve developed confidence in my ability to resource myself, which is huge.

As for those questions, the answers are: yes, I finished school. Yes, I can work. Yes, I can support myself. And now, I do what I love for a living. I write.

How Can I Help You?

My liberal arts and theology education have taught me that being of service is the highest calling on our lives. And I think that’s true.

Being able to help others by telling my story gives purpose to my life. I wake up each day knowing that by writing my truth, I might be helping someone. I might write something that makes a difference in someone’s life.

Not everything I write is profound, but I hope it’s helpful to at least one person. I’ve gained so much from reading other people’s stories — stories about mental health and stories about life in general.

That’s why I write for ILLUMINATION. I hope you enjoy my submissions. Thanks for reading.