Meet Allyson Nichols

We were lucky to catch up with Allyson Nichols recently and have shared our conversation below.

Allyson, we are so deeply grateful to you for opening up about your journey with mental health in the hops that it can help someone who might be going through something similar. Can you talk to us about your mental health journey and how you overcame or persisted despite any issues? For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.

I was officially diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) with panic attacks and depression at the end of January 2024, but I have struggled with anxiety my whole life.

I was always someone who was against being medicated for it due to the fear it would change my personality, but after six months of panic attacks at work, home, the grocery store, driving, and more, I reached a point where I could no longer ignore the impact my mental health was having on my quality of life. I began seeing my psychiatrist, and we worked together to put me on the correct medication for me with the help of the GeneSight test. This test is a simple swab of your cheeks that can be mailed into the GeneSight labs to help determine which medications may work best with your genes. It helped me immensely.

But medication isn’t a quick fix. I still had to do the work and figure out what my stressors were. I’ve been in therapy since October 2022, but I tended to focus on the same topics without going deeper into why I was affected so badly by them. I worked with my therapist and incorporated stronger self-care methods into my daily life to try to truly heal. I learned you are the number one person who is going to take care of you and treated myself as a friend. I started complimenting myself, journaling, leaning more into my spirituality, and working on my physical health. I also learned to be patient with myself, reminded myself I’m simply human and humans are naturally imperfect, flawed, and dynamic, and allowed myself to have those bad days when they came.

When I learned I was not broken (or crazy) for struggling with my mental health and genuinely worked on taking care of myself, I found myself able to flourish in my creativity and find happy moments again in my life.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am the founding editor of Persephone Literary Magazine, which showcases the light and dark of the human experience through contributions from amazing poets, short story authors, and photographers. This publication brings together a diverse range of voices and that’s one of the greatest things about it. We recently released the digital version of the October 2024 issue. All of the pages are completely black and poems and stories were all selected (and perfect!) for spooky season.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I believe my journey has been most impacted by my dedication and love for what I do. I’ve had multiple readers and contributors reach out to me to tell me they can see how much I love Persephone Literary simply through the work that was put into the pages. Luckily, I also specialized in magazine journalism in college, so I was able to utilize the skills I learned in this project, such as graphic design, page layout and editing.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

I’m always excited to connect with creative minds and am currently seeking contributors for Persephone Literary Magazine! We’re accepting submissions for our January 2025 issue, and anyone interested can submit their work through our website: persephoneliterary.com/submit

We’re also happy to collaborate with authors, publishers, and businesses on new releases and promotions, creating opportunities for partnerships. If you’re interested, feel free to reach out!

Additionally, we’re looking for volunteers to help manage our social media presence. If you have experience in social media marketing or design and want to support our growing community, you can email me at persephoneliterary@gmail.com

Lastly, we offer ad space for businesses and authors. You can find more details at persephoneliterary.com/advertising (Take a look at the Media Kit for pricing and bundle deals.)

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Angela Fach Photography

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Portraits of Resilience

Sometimes just seeing resilience can change out mindset and unlock our own resilience. That’s our

Productivity
Perspectives on Staying Creative

We’re beyond fortunate to have built a community of some of the most creative artists,

Confidence
Kicking Imposter Syndrome to the Curb

This is the year to kick the pesky imposter syndrome to the curb and move