Nonnie, nonnie, I have no idea if you'll see this reply, but I wanted to say thank you for the kind and considerate words! ♥♥

when I got the courage to open up to people about it little by little, things became a little better

I'm so glad to hear that! Coincidentally, I just had a long conversation with an old friend about depression last night (I had no idea she was also experiencing it) and it felt really good to "air it all out", or so to speak.

I hope 2014 is wonderful for you as well! :)))