When the World Turned Grey: My Battle with Depression and the Birth of The Red Coat Line

There are moments in life that change you quietly, slowly and without fanfare.

For me, depression wasn’t a sudden drop. It was a slow erosion. A steady dimming of the light. It was walking through life as if the volume was turned down on everything I loved, as if someone had replaced the vibrant world I once knew with one filtered in shades of grey

My battle with mental health began in childhood, long before I had the words to name it. I grew up in a home that didn’t feel safe. A mother who was cold and distant. A father who was always working, trying to keep the image of a normal family intact. At just three and a half years old, I survived a traumatic accident; set on fire in a freak moment that left physical scars. But the deeper scars were the ones you couldn’t see.

As I got older, I wore humor like a mask. Laughter became my armor. If I could make people laugh, maybe they wouldn’t notice I was barely holding it together. I became the funny one, the strong one, the one who always had a joke ready. But inside, I was drowning.

Depression is sneaky like that. You can look completely fine to the world and be falling apart in silence.

It wasn’t until much later in life—after countless battles with anxiety, emotional exhaustion, and moments of deep despair—that I realized how many people were carrying that same silence. And it broke my heart. Because I knew how lonely that place was. I knew how terrifying it could feel to think no one would understand.

That’s why I created The Red Coat Line.

The name comes from a moment I’ll never forget; meeting my soulmate, for the first time in person. She was wearing a red coat. It stood out in a sea of grey. She stood out. And in that moment, so did I. It was the first time in a long time that I felt seen.

The Red Coat Line is a mental health project built on that idea: that in a world full of grey, we can be the red. We can be the ones who see each other. Hear each other. Show up for one another. It’s not about having the perfect words. It’s about being present. It’s about giving people a place to speak—through a phone line, through shared stories, through the simple reminder that they are not alone.

If you’re reading this and struggling: I see you. I Am you. And you don’t have to stay silent.

Call. Share. Cry. Vent. Be heard.

📞 443-376-8602

🌐 www.theredcoatline.org

Because being heard can make all the difference.

Because sometimes, in the darkest moments, all we need is a little red in all that grey