Good day to all. This is Blondie signing in. As I have mentioned in my story I have suffered with mental illness all my life. I had no idea what was wrong with me. Still I knew my feeling weren’t normal. One of the biggest issues I dealt with was anxiety. I couldn’t understand why I had developed these strange feeling. My body and mind started to go haywire whenever I encountered a negative situation. I immediately began to feel symptoms such as butterflies in my stomach. A lump would appear in my throat. I would began to speak faster and louder than usual. Everything irritated me. I would lash out at others around me. It wasn’t until I signed myself into a drug program and was assigned a psychiatrist that I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder. Also known as panic attacks. There are other kinds of anxiety disorders they include: phobias, social anxiety disorder and separation anxiety.
I was treated for my drug addiction, but dealing with my anxiety was a little more complicated. It literally took me years to get a handle on my anxiety and sometimes nothing worked at all. In my search for relief I’d seen my share of psychiatrists and psychologists each doctor with a different diagnosed and a different treatment. I really didn’t know what was wrong with me, so I started to pay attention to my actions, feelings and how I respond to my medications. I also started to research. There are little ways you can help yourself with your anxiety, if you find it doesn’t work you should always talk to your mental professional for guidance. I would like to share with you what I found. I want to make one matter clear, I am not a medical doctor or professional therapist. I am just the opposite. A mental illness patient looking for answers and willing to share what I found. I can only tell you how I felt and what helped me. In hopes that some of this information can help you deal with your issues. I strongly advise you to consult with your doctor or therapist who can help you on your journey to excellent mental health.
First let’s asked the question what is anxiety disorder. The clinical definition of anxiety disorder are a clusters of mental disorders characterized by significant fear such as personal functions are significantly impaired. Anxiety disorder who’s affected by it. You many ask yourself, do I have anxiety disorder? This is a common question one-third of Americans asked themselves every day. All adults at some point of their lives have experienced anxiety. You are not alone. Anxiety includes feelings of uneasy, worried, nervous, with physical symptoms of stress. These happen when one fears immediate danger disaster or bad luck. Anxiety is a very normal way people react to stress. In fact anxiety can be good in some situations. Like letting us know when there is danger. Anxiety also helps us to get ready for certain situations. Anxiety disorders are different from normal feeling of being anxious, and include fear at a level that makes it hard to do simple activities. Dominique Morton the main character in the book ”The Other Side of DC” written by L.M. Lawrence, finds out the hard way how anxiety can affect your life. Dominique just couldn’t cope so she abruptly leaves work without telling anyone. Because of her behavior she could have lost her job that day. She had no idea she was experiencing a panic attack at the time. Another example Dominique relapses while she’s in rehab, when she is confronted about her drug use she immediately starts to scream out and cry uncontrollably. She only calms down when her doctor tells her she’s not to be punished, it’s her first offense. She was lucky, she could have been thrown out the program. Knowing the signs of anxiety disorder is the first step toward making sure it doesn’t lead to mental health problems. Help is available. The first step is admitting you need help. Then talk to your doctor and tell him or she how you really feel. My therapist help me in ways my family and friends couldn’t. Don’t get me wrong having support from my friends and family are very important but it took me a while to start putting these strategies into play and it didn’t happen overnight. When I’m feeling extra stress I now have tools that can help me. I tried them one by one. Some worked better than others, everyone is different. I hope some of these tips can work for you. If you notice your heart racing or you get shortest of breath, take a moment inhale and exhale. It may sound silly but sometimes it gives you a moment to put the situation in perspective before taking action. My next step is to make sure I always take my medication as directed by my doctor. If I feel the medication isn’t working I let my doctor know. Maintaining your physical health is key. Eat a healthy diet, and exercising a little each day can’t hurt. Make sure you get enough sleep. If you’ll like me I have trouble sleeping but my doctor helped with that too. If you develop strong copying skills you can keep your anxiety under control. Get professional help. I learned to recognize the signs and symptoms. I found it is better to reach out for help instead of trying to deal with it alone. I hope this information helps someone. As always call or text someone it’s always a good thing to give someone a mental hug. This is Blondie signing off.