Charles McCormick has lived with depression for nearly his entire life.
McCormick recounts his life starting with the passing of his mother when he was young. His father was an alcoholic who couldn’t provide stable living conditinos for a child. He was taken in by his paternal grandmother but due to her poor health, he spent a lot of his youth moving between family and friends at times when his grandmother was in the hospital.
In middle school his depression first came to a head with his first suicide attempt. After a brief stay in a mental health facility he returned to school. Upon his return he realized that both peers and adults paid more attention to him.
He realized that people didn’t really care about him his problems, unless he was obviously struggling.Having been isolated by his depression, in his youth, McCormick would choose to do poorly in classes in order to receive some form of attention or validation form others.
Going into high school McCormick through himself into extracurriculars to keep himself occupied and out of the house. By putting himself into music and drama he found a way to build bonds with others while at the same time expressing himself.
Shortly after graduation McCormick grandmother passed away while he was out of town. With the loss of the only stable care taker and parental figure in his life, he was left alone at a very important point in his life. When entering college with no stable home or support network as well as finding a new place of near total independence his depression spiraled out of control. During the fall of his freshman year McCormick made his second attempt at suicide.
While he did end up leaving college he has found happiness in both his fiancé Kory Mozdy and becoming a self-sufficient and competent adult.
Video: Coming out
Charles McCormick says that being surrounded by a conservitive religious community, coming out as gay can be a very isolating experience.