I have anxiety and depression.
It’s been with me since I was in middle school. I’m now in my early thirties, married, with a good job, master’s degree, nice house, etc. etc. Thinking about how good I’ve got it makes me feel like a jerk - people have so many struggles that are incredibly worse than mine… how dare I feel bad? I know that’s not a fair comparison, and it’s one of many negative thoughts driving most of my problems. I know that depression and anxiety are diseases, and I didn’t ask to have this anymore than any other sick person.
I know I’m not alone. If you’re reading this, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re going through some kind of mental angst as well. Later, I’ll list all of my disorders and labels, and you can compare them to yours, if you’d like to. I say “anxiety and depression” because most of my symptoms are in those broad categories. I probably don’t need to tell you that there’s a huge stigma around mental health and mental illness.
In the last few years, it’s become a battle to feel “normal” or “happy”. Prescriptions and therapy are my primary weapons in the fight, but I have a collection of other activities and resources that (usually) help me stay calm and feel better, if only a little bit.
I enjoy sharing, writing, making resources, blogging, and so forth. I will sometimes dream up blog ideas to try and distract myself from whatever is running around in my head. Today, I had a small epiphany - I can share my mental health “go-to” stuff. If it helps me, maybe it could help you.
Everything I share is based solely on my personal experience, and it’s not meant to be medical advice. If you’re like me, you have already researched tons of advice and therapeutic techniques that might get you relief, and you’ve probably come across more than one article or video that made you cringe. I’m going to try and be as not-cringe-y as possible, but I fully realize that what works for me may not do anything for you. Still, I hope you’ll read along and find something that sparks your interest or looks comforting.
Thank you for reading.
It’s been with me since I was in middle school. I’m now in my early thirties, married, with a good job, master’s degree, nice house, etc. etc. Thinking about how good I’ve got it makes me feel like a jerk - people have so many struggles that are incredibly worse than mine… how dare I feel bad? I know that’s not a fair comparison, and it’s one of many negative thoughts driving most of my problems. I know that depression and anxiety are diseases, and I didn’t ask to have this anymore than any other sick person.
I know I’m not alone. If you’re reading this, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re going through some kind of mental angst as well. Later, I’ll list all of my disorders and labels, and you can compare them to yours, if you’d like to. I say “anxiety and depression” because most of my symptoms are in those broad categories. I probably don’t need to tell you that there’s a huge stigma around mental health and mental illness.
In the last few years, it’s become a battle to feel “normal” or “happy”. Prescriptions and therapy are my primary weapons in the fight, but I have a collection of other activities and resources that (usually) help me stay calm and feel better, if only a little bit.
I enjoy sharing, writing, making resources, blogging, and so forth. I will sometimes dream up blog ideas to try and distract myself from whatever is running around in my head. Today, I had a small epiphany - I can share my mental health “go-to” stuff. If it helps me, maybe it could help you.
Everything I share is based solely on my personal experience, and it’s not meant to be medical advice. If you’re like me, you have already researched tons of advice and therapeutic techniques that might get you relief, and you’ve probably come across more than one article or video that made you cringe. I’m going to try and be as not-cringe-y as possible, but I fully realize that what works for me may not do anything for you. Still, I hope you’ll read along and find something that sparks your interest or looks comforting.
Thank you for reading.
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