World Health Day Post

In celebration of world health day, I thought it was important to share the progress I’ve made with my mental health and how medications have helped me.

In December 2019, I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). GAD is ongoing anxiety that interferes with daily activities. In the US, each year more than 3 million cases of GAD. When I was diagnosed I was put on a depressant to take as needed. Situations that caused me to feel anxious were: going to medical appointments by myself, being called on in class, and doing something that I thought would disappoint my parents.

Almost two years later, while I was alone at another doctors appointment, I unloaded everything that I was feeling. This caused the nurse practitioner to put me on another medication, but this one was specifically for depression/anxiety. She explained why to me. She drew a sketch of a brain and sectioned it out into pieces of things that I liked to do. Then she drew this dark section that represented what I feared or was anxious of. She explained that what was happening to me was that my fears were causing adrenaline to go through my brain and the communication between different parts of my brain would usually stop after the situation is over. This is normal. However, my brain would become hyperactive at moments and release extra adrenaline when a situation occurred or was thought of. Basically the medication would help balance out the communication between different parts of my brain again.

Now, that was a headache.

Ever since then I’ve been taking two medications to manage my GAD. Unfortunately, since I went years without having any medication then a few years without the right type, I developed panic disorder, which leads me to have unexpected surges of panic that overwhelmed my body and send it into overdrive, which causes me to not function properly for several minutes. My panic attacks are usually created from the slightest thought of something going wrong or becoming overwhelmed.

So basically I have three mental health disorders that all go together.

My depression is pretty well under control now. I credit most of that to finding a job that I like and keeps me busy. My anxiety and panic disorder have been like a roller coaster. There are many days where I’m okay, or have minor anxious and panicky moments. But for what it is worth, the anxiety and panic attacks that I’ve had since being on medication are not even half as bad as when I didn’t have medication. There is only a few times that I’ve had a serious panic or anxiety attack and most of them are linked to forgetting to take my medication.

I know that there is a stigma towards taking medication for mental health.

I don’t know when, or if, I’ll get to come off my medications but I can honestly say that taking the medication is not something that makes me upset. It has helped me beyond what I could have ever imagined. I’m able to hold down TWO jobs and STILL finish college (debt free might I add).

I can finally begin to feel actually happy and am able to stop putting a fictitious mask on before I meet people or even talk to my own family.

Yes, I have three mental health disorders, but if you met me for the first time or for the hundredth time, you would never be able to tell.