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Living with Mental Health

The Struggles

By Lauren RosePublished 6 years ago 6 min read
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Hello everyone, I hope you have had an amazing weekend. This blog I will be talking about mental health issues and some ways to help you. (Please bear in mind that some of these methods might work for some but won’t for others)

I have had many mental health problems (past & present). I will be talking about my past and my present mental health issues that I still suffer from today.

Depression:

My depression started when I was in high school, back when I was 14 years old. I had problems with bullies inside school and outside of school. It was all too much. One day I found out my Granddad had passed away peacefully in his sleep, this had affected me a lot. He was always there for me, he was the person I turned to, He was the one I spoke to about the bullies and my problems. Him not being there was a huge difference, I couldn’t talk to anyone, I couldn’t seek advice from him anymore because he wasn’t there anymore. There were times where I thought I was alone, but I went to my doctors and was diagnosed with minor depression.

There were many thoughts going through my mind;

Why me?

Was it something that I had done?

How do I control my anger?

How do I control my emotions?

Who do I turn to?

And many more.

Coping mechanisms that helped me get through all the hard times.

I would always have an elastic band around one of my wrists, this helped me fight off the urges to self-harm. I would twang the elastic band so I could feel it hit my wrist, this helped me because I was feeling pain but I wasn’t using a blade or any sharp object to harm myself.

I would write all of my feelings down on a piece of paper and burn it out in the garden, this way I was able to see my emotions and feeling burn away. It helped me mentally.

I would speak to my therapist about my feeling, this also helped me a lot through all the hard times.

Speaking to my family helped get through the times where I wasn’t speaking to my therapist. I know some people find it hard speaking to family about your problems but it really does help.

Some of these may not help, but I have found that speaking about your problems does help. Please speak out.

Anxiety:

My anxiety started when I started college, I was going to college with no friends, I felt alone and to be honest I was completely scared. About a month into college I spoke up about having anxiety and the college that I went to was able to help me massively. I saw a counsellor twice a week and I had my own room where I could go and have “time out,” this was where I was able to sit by myself and calm down before, during or after lessons. All my teachers knew which helped me a lot also.

Coping mechanisms that helped me get through the hard times;

Take time out to make sure you do at least one thing you enjoy each day.

Talk to someone you trust about how you are feeling— it is never good to keep your feelings bottled up inside, do not keep them to yourself.

Monitor your thoughts — by writing them down to help you figure out what is making you anxious. Mood diaries are cheap on eBay and Amazon, which is how I monitor my anxiety.

Avoid avoidance— by facing your fears on a daily basis.

Make sure you practice controlling your breathing. This helps you calm yourself down.

If self-help strategies aren’t working, you may need to seek professional support from a mental health professional. The first step is to contact your GP or Doctor to discuss the options that they can provide you.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD):

I was diagnosed with BPD in June 2017, after having a really hard time coping with situations that life had thrown at me. I had made an appointment to see my doctor, once I spoke to my doctor I was referred to a mental health clinic In my local area. My first appointment with the mental health clinic was very nerve-racking, after spending 1 hour and 30 mins talking about myself and my struggles, the doctor had told me that I had BPD. I was prescribed some medication and told to book an appointment for a months time to go back for a checkup.

In the month of taking my medication, I found that my mood was easy to control, I wouldn’t lash out on the people that are close to me, I found it easier to talk to people about my struggles, I also found it easier to interact with new people.

Coping mechanisms to help you get through the struggles of BPD;

You feel very worries about people abandoning you—this means you would do anything to stop that from happening.

You have very intense emotions — these emotions can last from a few hours to a few days and the moods can change very quickly in a short amount of time.

You may find it hard to find and keep stable relationships.

You can act out impulsively and can do things that could harm you (binge eating, drugs, driving dangerously)

You may have suicidal thoughts or some self-harming behaviour

You feel empty and very lonely a lot of the time.

You get very angry and struggle to control your anger.

When you are very stressed, sometimes you might;

Feel paranoid

Have psychotic experiences, such as seeing or hearing things other people cannot see/hear.

Feeling numb or ‘checked out’ and not remember things properly after they’ve happened.

Some of these coping mechanisms may work for some people but they might not for others. You need to find which coping mechanism is best for you.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD):

This is an anxiety disorder related to your body image. BDD can vary in severity from person-to-person and from day-to-day. For some people, concerns around appearances may make it difficult for them to go out in public or see other people.

You might be given a diagnosis if you;

Experience obsessive worries about one or more perceived flaws in your physical appearance; these flaws cannot be seen by others or appears very slight.

Develop compulsive behaviours and routines, such as excessive use of mirrors or picking your skin, this helps some deal with worries you may have about the way you look.

Common signs of BDD

If you have BDD you experience intrusive thoughts about one specific (or several areas) of your body which you may think is;

Out of proportion

Disfigured

Too big or too small

Lacking symmetry

These obsessions and behaviours cause emotional distress and have a significant impact on your ability to carry on with your day-to-day life. In this way, BDD is closely related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

BDD may also cause other problems such as;

Feelings of shame, guilt or loneliness

Isolating yourself to avoid situations that can cause anxiety or discomfort

Self-harm

Depression or anxiety

Misuse of alcohol and/ or drugs

Eating disorders

Suicidal thoughts

Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to read my blog. I hope I didn’t bore you too much. This subject is very close to me as I have suffered from some of this disorders. I feel like the world needs to know more about them all. Some of these disorders I have not have/ don’t have so I have asked some people to help me out. Thank you to those who helped me out.

Please let me know what you think of my blog in the comments.

Peace🤘🏼💜

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About the Creator

Lauren Rose

27 years old

Ex - Foster Parent

Stories of struggles, Some that I have overcome and some that I am still facing today.

Some of my stories are about the skin issues i am having. I hope to help others better understand Hidradenitis Suppurativa

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