Saturday 6 January 2018

Living with Anxiety and Depression


I wrote a post quite a while ago about coping with anxiety but I would like to also share a post about what I'm currently going through and maybe, just maybe, someone else is going through the same situation and feelings and this can help you feel less alone.

I have a wonderful partner, a job that's going to further my career and a supportive family. But all these things don't stop the anxiety and depression that goes through me on a day to day basis. I don't always experience it - but it can be a constant feeling throughout the day or a niggling feeling I can't explain which only makes me MORE anxious.

Anxiety can occur in many different ways in lots of different situations. It could be anything from walking down the street to being in a busy shopping centre.


Going out of the house a few years ago was almost impossible until my partner encouraged me and soon I was visiting him in London and going out alone again. Since then I'm able to walk to work most days (some days I become anxious about walking in case I feel anxious - I know, anxious about being anxious) to work and I'm able to get a train and tube on my own to my partner's house.

I still can't set foot in a mall on my own and I become anxious about the smallest things such as calling someone, letting someone down or admitting how I feel.

Some days I struggle to get out of bed because I don't want to face a stressful day at work or I don't want to get up out of the safeness of my bed. Having anxiety and depression is like having two people yelling at each other. Anxious me: "Get out of bed! You can't be late! You are going to feel ill. You'll never feel better." Depressive me: "I don't want to get out of bed. It's unsafe outside. No one cares anyway."

The difference now is that I'm able to push myself further than I have before. I've just completed a journey through London I didn't think I would ever be able to do and little accomplishments such as that mean a great deal to someone like me with anxiety.

My advice to you would be to celebrate these little things - in the end they will be the start of you taking big steps. Not every day will be easy, but it's better to know there are other people going through the same thing as you.

At the moment I struggle to see when I will feel better, more confident in myself again. But it's there, in the not too distant future. Whether it's counselling that I need or just encouraging myself in general, I will get there and so will you. This journey may be hard but it's not impossible. Lots of people think anxiety is something you can't overcome, that it will be with you for the rest of your life. But that's not true; we are able to overcome great obstacles in life, including anxiety.

Believing in yourself will be a great resource to you. I know this can be hard when you have anxiety coupled with depression, but I hope one day you see you will be happy, you will overcome these obstacles. And if you can't see that yet, I can see it for you.

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