Written and Discussed by Anastasia:

Anxiety and Depression is a commodity that I have lived with for a few years now. Coming full face with the fact that I was diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression. Was I scared to keep moving forward? Yes. Was I afraid of what people would think of me? Of course. But at the end of the day, you have to realize that other peoples opinions don’t matter. I know you have heard of that phrase over and over again, but I am going to say It once more.

In my experience, It all starts with my anxiety. Ever since Elementary school, I have had sever anxiety/panic attacks. I have suffered with anxiety attacks ever since. Still to this day, having a reason or not, my attacks came naturally. I wasn’t able to control them and It lead me to having them more frequently, sometimes even 5 attacks in one day.

People have been through worse, but this is something that I have to live with. But, as a reminder you shouldn’t be ashamed of your anxiety or depression. It happens to be a very common mental health issue, and that’s okay.

On top of my anxiety, when I entered Middle school, I started to get the symptoms of depression. It was the beginning of 8th grade when It started to increase viciously. I became distant with friends and family, I started to become less and less motivated, and I never had the energy for anyone or anything.

Now moving on towards the more current events, I went to a psychiatrist and I was finally diagnosed with depression and severe anxiety. I was relieved to be diagnosed with something because my mind made me believe i was crazy or something was wrong with me. Having a doctor or therapist, helps you feel less stressful because you know that you are not alone and that having someone who has dealt with these situations before, it was easier to talk to them about how i was feeling. It is always necessary to talk to someone who you can relate to because most people don’t understand the situations you are going through or have been through.

Till this day I have been coping with my mental health in a serious manner. I have taken time to figure myself out and get the help that I needed in order to keep myself moving. I started to surround myself with the people who made me feel good about myself and always had positive energy. Yes i do still have doubtful days and stressful days but don’t we all. It’s a part of life and we need to just push through It.

The main idea of writing this was to prove to you that you are not the only person going through what you are going through. You may think that you are alone and that you have no one, but don’t listen to that voice inside your head because deep down you know that it isn’t true. Believe me when I say this, I have been in this situation were I had a constant feeling of loneliness and I always believed that no one understood me or was there for me when I needed them the most. But that isn’t the case, you are not alone and you are never alone. There will always be a person there for you at your lowest whether you realize it or not. Sometimes we don’t realize that the people who care, love, and protect us are the people we see often all the time, are the people who will always be there for us know matter what the circumstances are.

I have hit rock bottom so many times, but some how I have managed to get back up on my feet and some how I believed that some day I will be happy and I will hopefully let all my negativity go. All I could do right now is to take it day by day or minute by minute. Your depression or anxiety does not change over night. It eventually takes time. The healing process takes time.

Some days are good and some days are bad but that’s just how the world works. There are days where you feel like you can do anything, but on other days you may feel like you are hopeless or useless. But at the end of everyday, you need to find the positive and happy things in life. No matter how big or small it can be. At the end of the day I always reflected back upon good memories, good events that have happened to me, and most importantly I thought about my friends and family, because if it weren’t for my friends or family, I wouldn’t be here right now.

THE BIG PICTURE:

Besides my anxiety and depression I have always realized that I was made for something bigger in life. What I mean by this is that, I always knew that I needed to help the people/ communities around me. The world isn’t always sunshine and rainbows, so who’s going to help make communities come together and make a difference? Every time I think about this question I think about me. I want to make a difference. I want to bring communities together for the better.

I am really determined to do this because I know that I am worthy of doing this, I’m not doing it alone because I have people who are there to support me.

The big picture is, for me to take one step at a time by help teenagers overcome their mental health issues or physical change. I want them to see that they are not alone and that there are people who understand them. I want you all to realize that you can become any person that you want to be. The whole concept of this website is to help you guys through your mental health.