Celebrating 20 Years of Buffy: Buffy's Impact of Mental Illness

It's Buffy's 20th Anniversary and you're going to see tons of memories and reflections about the cast/crew and Buffy's impact on society and how amazing she is. Instead of repeating what many will discuss, I want to take a few moments to reflect on Buffy’s impact on me.

Like most people, high school was a strange time for me. Aside from the hormones and figuring out who I am as a person and navigating relationships and friends and all that fun stuff, I was also struggling with severe depression and anxiety. My mental illnesses caused me to miss a lot of opportunities and time. I honestly don’t remember large chunks of that period, but one thing I do remember is Buffy.