I Dare You To #DropYourPants For The #Underwareness Cause!

Many thanks to Depend for sponsoring today's story and encouraging people to #DropYourPants for #Underwareness!

Momma Told Me: You shouldn't have to walk in their shoes to understand their blisters.

There are some things people don't talk about. Momma always told me that anything taboo is usually only such because of people's inability to communicate. We, as a society, tend to turn things into a stigma by omitting them from discussion altogether until those surrounding the topic are alienated and confused. But, like Momma always said, the only thing to be afraid of is ignorance and she was a firm believer that we, as humans, should strive to understand the plight of others whether we literally can walk their path or are left solely on the corner looking in. This is my tale of #Underwareness. I am not your typical poster child, but I am statistically a typical victim of bladder leakage. You just may be surprised to learn how common 'people like me' are!

My friends and family would classify me as a free spirit, if you did a Family Feud poll of ways to describe Jenna it'd be right up there with 'crazy cat lady' and 'living rainbow.' But you'd never know that 'free spirit' is a term that extends to my very core; yes, even my bladder. Did you know that at this very minute there are more people in their 20s experiencing LBL (light bladder leakage) than those in their 80s? And while the majority of those enduring this plight secretly are mothers trying to regain control of their body postpartum, there's also a large chunk, like me, who have coped with LBL due to a myriad of other issues.

Bladder Leakage can range from a lack of control and urgent need to 'go,' to action triggered incidents brought on by physical activity to laughter. If you are a 20 something, like me, who hasn't had any kids but experience an embarrassing lack of control from time to time it may be caused by a myriad of health factors from weight and diabetes to a urinary tract infection. For me, my #Underwareness story began with a frequent, almost overwhelming, unexpected urge to go. For months I ignored the signs until one day, on a job interview, in a skirt and heels and under tremendous stress, I felt a trickle of embarrassment.

It had been ignorable at first, after all I didn't really feel any different, I just knew something had gone horribly wrong. For months I experience similar instances of light bladder leakage and lack of control and insisted on ignoring it on the premise that I was too young to be experiencing such issues, and I was all too mortified to talk to anyone about it. A few months later, at the end of my yearly checkup my physician asked if there was 'anything else' or anything 'out of the ordinary' I wanted to discuss with her before she left. Biting my lip I mumbled dismissively that there had been a few 'accidents,' but I was sure they were nothing.

It turns out those accidents were not just karmas funny way of paying me back over recent misdeeds, but caused by real medical conditions and health concerns I should have been looking into. My weight, diet, and the beginning of a UTI all pointed towards light bladder leakage, and the potential beginning of larger health issues. Over 65 million people worldwide experience bladder leakage and loss of control, and now is the time to stand up, #DropYourPants, and join the movement to shed light on this otherwise taboo topic.

Not only is Depend offering free samples of their confidence restoring product, but they will donate $1, up to $3 Million, over the next 3 years to the Simon Foundation for Continence and United Way for each person who share a #DropYourPants photo or #Underwareness story with their hashtags. And I'm not the only voice lending itself to the cause, some very big celebrities are dropping their pants and speaking out- see who and grab your free sample from Depend on the Drop Your Pants hub. Depend offers comfortable and discreet solutions for those dealing with bladder leakage. Do you know someone who has, or have you ever, experienced light bladder leakage?

What Daughter Says: It's time to speak up about bladder leakage and arm each other with knowledge and understanding.