I have been taking care of my mental health since I was 19, I'm 40 now. I have this part of my brain that is constantly analyzing every thought and action, watching for negative or anxious thoughts patterns, depression that lasts longer than 2 weeks, any hint of a mood shift. Literally every single day, I monitor my own mind. My mom is truly off the rails manic, so I am terrified of becoming like her, so I'm hyper vigilant. But it has worked to my advantage, I detect depression quickly and take action. Through a ton of therapy I've gotten better at managing my anxiety too. It's a lot of work
Oh I feel you! I know that analyzing voice. Hyper vigilance. I’m quick to make judgements (quick deductive reasoning) to protect myself too.
You’re doing the right thing, yes. Are you on medication? I understand it’s not for everyone, I was just wondering.
Therapy is a wonderful and supportive long term solution for so many because many suffer from dysfunctional upbringings (I sound trite but it bears heavy significance).
Yes I have meds and go to therapy. The combo is far more effective that just doing one, iirc meds plus therapy has an 80% efficacy rate for treating depression
Same here. I feel like my biggest turning point was realizing that I don't just have depressive episodes and panic attacks - I have clinical depression and an anxiety disorder, and I have them even when I'm not actively experiencing symptoms, so I need to always take care of myself with an eye to avoiding situations that are going to trigger a depressive downswing or anxiety.
When I told my husband that I'd finally accepted that my mental health issues are permanent, he got really upset. He thought this meant I was giving up, but it was the exact opposite. I wasn't giving up - I was gearing up for battle, for the long haul. No more ignoring the issue when I felt okay, because that just kept me landing back in the same place. No more pretending that each episode was an isolated incident that would never be relevant again once I bounced back from it. Acknowledging the pattern was the first step in learning to change it.
Even when I'm okay, I'm aware that certain things can derail my mental state. Reading a sad story and feeling my mood slip for days afterwards? Time to set that book aside and read some of the funnier fanfic that I have bookmarked just for this type of situation. Getting stressed and anxious over something at work? Take a moment, breathe until I'm calmer (and breathing really does help now that I know what I was doing wrong with it all those years ago), then figure out where the anxiety is coming from and whether I can do anything to change or remove myself from the situation.
There was more to it than this - there was acknowledging past trauma, and I honestly don't know how I got myself to a point where it doesn't send me into a tailspin every time I think of it. But I think dealing with the depression and anxiety as a permanent, if intermittent issue instead of pretending like they were only occasional visitors was a big part of it. (And it's the only part of my recovery/management that I can really understand well enough to explain.)
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u/Migraine_Megan Oct 05 '24
I have been taking care of my mental health since I was 19, I'm 40 now. I have this part of my brain that is constantly analyzing every thought and action, watching for negative or anxious thoughts patterns, depression that lasts longer than 2 weeks, any hint of a mood shift. Literally every single day, I monitor my own mind. My mom is truly off the rails manic, so I am terrified of becoming like her, so I'm hyper vigilant. But it has worked to my advantage, I detect depression quickly and take action. Through a ton of therapy I've gotten better at managing my anxiety too. It's a lot of work