As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

It is your sister and friend, Adar, and you're listening to the Digital Steerhood Podcast.

In part one of Alex's story, we learned that when Alex was 12, she had lost her mother

to an aneurysm while playing volleyball.

The sudden loss of her mother and the overwhelming grief that followed left Alex trying to survive

a world that no longer made sense.

The dynamics of her household also changed.

Alex dad had to travel a lot due to work.

Alex's sister eventually left for college, leaving Alex all alone with just the four walls

of her apartment.

Soon after, Alex began to develop what she thought was an irrational fear of the dark.

It means she'd run home, enter her room, slam the door behind her, turn on the TV and

fixate on it.

So she could drown out the whispers and shadows emerging from the walls until at least sleep

could take her.

What Alex did not know at the time was this would become something a lot bigger than irrational

fear.

Despite being diagnosed with ADHD in high school, she didn't consider taking medication

until she met and spoke with her roommate in college, who also happened to have ADHD.

And boy, did that change her world?

Soon after graduating college, Alex landed a job at a tech startup and finally had access

to health insurance.

...