Mental Health 1: My Story
Hello my beautiful friends!
A quick disclaimer before I begin this post... Obviously, I am not a trained doctor/psychologist/nurse/etc. I am not qualified to give proper advice about mental health and I am simply writing from my own experiences. Everyone experiences mental health issues in different ways, so how I am feeling may not reflect how other people feel.
Today I have decided to write my first post about mental health. This post aims to fill you in about my mental health journey so far. I have decided to write this post primarily to inform all of you and maybe help someone experiencing similar symptoms. Recently, there has been a new update to my mental health journey, which has also stimulated me to write this post.
I was about ten years old when I first remember experiencing symptoms of anxiety. During Year 5, I experienced bullying and I think this triggered it. I remember vomiting everyday before school for a period of time.
After this time, I experienced vomiting and other anxiety symptoms in certain situations such as starting a new school and doing an exam. These symptoms included blushing, sweating, shaking and heart palpitations. These symptoms became a more frequent part of my life and I started experiencing them on public transport and in public places. From this, I began having panic attacks.
My first period of depression was when I was thirteen years old. I remember feeling really tired and unmotivated the majority of the time. Another symptom I experienced was overeating since I found comfort in food. Overeating or under-eating due to anxiety or depression is common; however, many people are often surprised by this.
A personal barrier for me was talking to my parents about my mental health issues since I felt there was stigma around mental health due to their generation. Nevertheless, although they struggled to understand my issues, they were really supportive. After this, I spoke to the doctor aged sixteen in July and the doctor referred me to a counselling service.
I began CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) in October; however, I only attended one session because I found the counselor patronising. This was a big knock for me, so I declined swapping to another counselor.
On Thursday, I finally self-referred myself to counselling again with the same charity, but I requested to have a different counselor and I am currently on the waiting list. I am determined to stick with my counselling now and it is making me feel positive about my future.
If you feel lonely about your mental health, reach out and contact me. I hope that your life is as positive as possible right now, even if you are experiencing the demon of mental health.
Anna
A quick disclaimer before I begin this post... Obviously, I am not a trained doctor/psychologist/nurse/etc. I am not qualified to give proper advice about mental health and I am simply writing from my own experiences. Everyone experiences mental health issues in different ways, so how I am feeling may not reflect how other people feel.
Today I have decided to write my first post about mental health. This post aims to fill you in about my mental health journey so far. I have decided to write this post primarily to inform all of you and maybe help someone experiencing similar symptoms. Recently, there has been a new update to my mental health journey, which has also stimulated me to write this post.
I was about ten years old when I first remember experiencing symptoms of anxiety. During Year 5, I experienced bullying and I think this triggered it. I remember vomiting everyday before school for a period of time.
After this time, I experienced vomiting and other anxiety symptoms in certain situations such as starting a new school and doing an exam. These symptoms included blushing, sweating, shaking and heart palpitations. These symptoms became a more frequent part of my life and I started experiencing them on public transport and in public places. From this, I began having panic attacks.
My first period of depression was when I was thirteen years old. I remember feeling really tired and unmotivated the majority of the time. Another symptom I experienced was overeating since I found comfort in food. Overeating or under-eating due to anxiety or depression is common; however, many people are often surprised by this.
A personal barrier for me was talking to my parents about my mental health issues since I felt there was stigma around mental health due to their generation. Nevertheless, although they struggled to understand my issues, they were really supportive. After this, I spoke to the doctor aged sixteen in July and the doctor referred me to a counselling service.
I began CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) in October; however, I only attended one session because I found the counselor patronising. This was a big knock for me, so I declined swapping to another counselor.
On Thursday, I finally self-referred myself to counselling again with the same charity, but I requested to have a different counselor and I am currently on the waiting list. I am determined to stick with my counselling now and it is making me feel positive about my future.
If you feel lonely about your mental health, reach out and contact me. I hope that your life is as positive as possible right now, even if you are experiencing the demon of mental health.
Anna
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