Depression.

I thought I would share my experience with depression in my life.
I got depression when I was 12.
I got pretty suicidal at age 12-13. I'm not even sure why. Maybe I couldn't see any good beyond what I was seeing then.
I started using creativity as my outlet because it wasn't very severe this helped.
At 14 I was in the habit of self harm.
At 15 someone came into my life that opened my eyes up to punk rock. Punk rock saved me.
It pulled me out of that dark time. I figured out more about myself. I was reckless I was happy.
I got my first boyfriend at 16. We had so much fun together.
After that it would come in waves but nothing too serious.
I didn't really struggle with depression again until I was 20.
At 20 my second boyfriend went off into the navy. When he was gone I was so depressed I developed an eating disorder.
I just didn't have the motivation to eat. I got as much done as I could then moved out to be with him.
We didn't have much money for food so I kept losing weight. It wasn't healthy at all.
I was trying my best to see the light while living between those four walls, alone the majority of the time.
I stopped seeing any hope or light at the end of the tunnel.
I became very depressed and suicidal. I would get sores on my hips from laying in one spot all day.
After a suicide attempt, I finally pulled myself out of the pit that didn't seem like it would end.
I moved back home and my then husband moved out with me a couple weeks after.
That following summer depression returned. I would push myself to work but didn't see how everyone else did it so easily.
It was so hard to get out of bed.
My relationship was having troubles at this time too.
Things started improving. I was doing really good the end of this year which was 2011.
On Valentines 2012 I got so discouraged I knew I needed to move out soon. And we did!
This year was overall pretty great.
During the summer I did go through just a few weeks to a month of depression but I climbed out quick.
2013 we moved into a beautiful apartment that I loved we made it into a home.
Just like clockwork the summer brought depression. It only lasted about a month or two.
The entirety of 2014 I was in deep depression. You can read why here.
Again this post might not help anyone but sometimes sharing our stories makes us stronger.
I am here sharing this bit of myself to let you know it's okay.
You won't always feel this way.
Sure it might keep coming back but the good times are worth seeing what comes out the other side.
I have no quick fix because I'm still struggling.
I will tell you the thing that helps the most is gratitude.
If you are in severe depression this probably won't help but slowly things will start to make you feel again.
This comic sums up depression better than I ever could. It's so relatable for anyone that's struggled with this.
Go read it here and part two here.
If you are interested in my anxiety post it's here.
Something that has helped me lots when I fall in the pit are John Halcyon Styn's videos, thinking about creating my reality and life design, taking responsibility for the way my life is, taking steps to get closer to your goals and Jessica Mullen's worksheets.

Don't give up. We are all in this together. I love you.

Anxiety.

 I know I haven't posted in quite sometime but I've been thinking about this for a while and it's very important to me. Thank you to those of you that have stuck around even when I've disappeared.
This post is just about me opening up about anxiety.
I've suffered a lot with it and I want to maybe help others get the help they need.
Since I'm still dealing with it maybe I'm not the best to help but all I can do is speak from experience.
I've had it since I was very young but back then I had no clue what it was.
I remember when I was 12 getting a physically sick feeling in school before I had to change for PE.
I remember before and during certain classes just eating myself up inside because of the nerves while everyone said,
"Oh she's just quiet, she's shy." While a war was raging inside myself.
Maybe the quiet people have the most things going on inside them.
At 14 when I started high school I panicked and cried on the roof for a few hours after school.
When I was 15 and had the driving test I didn't realize I was having an anxiety attack that very moment.
The day before I started college I had an attack in my boyfriend's car while he drove me home not knowing what to do.
When I 20 I moved out on my own in a tiny studio apartment.
I think I had developed mild agoraphobia. I wouldn't leave the house and the few times I did I never would go alone.
At 22 it started getting pretty bad but I would make steps to conquer it.
I would leave the house alone once in a while to get the mail. It sounds small but it was big for me.
At 23 I started meditating and I would take my dog on walks and out to go pee, this helped me a lot.
I started dating and this was really facing my fears.
I remember before a date with this really awesome pretty girl I was so nervous but I was able to distract myself with cartoons.
I was improving a lot even though I still had it daily and it got really bad in cars but I was really pushing myself.
My husband had a week long business trip in the summer and that's the first time I had chest pains so bad I couldn't take deep breaths.
I could only take shallow ones and it didn't let up until he was back home with me.
I don't think I coped with that well but I tried to distract myself and do fun activities.
I even got a job when I moved out which I hadn't been able to do for the previous 2 years so I was really proud of myself.
After my divorce it was pretty unbearable since it seemed I had nothing else to lose.
I pushed through and kept my job as long as I could. I started having to many panic attacks before work and wasn't able to go in.
I started going on walks regularly and watching my favorite shows as often as I could.
At this point I had really fallen off the recovery horse and was having severe chest pains to remind myself.
At the end of 2014 I tried medication to help with it. The side effects were too bothersome so I stopped soon after.
It's 2015 now and I'd like to think I'm making progress again.
It's a never ending roller coaster but sometimes it gets a little easier just to coast.
I've been in the boat of vomiting, not being able to breath, chest pains for months at a time, squeezing and stabbing feelings in the chest, eye twitching, migraines, shaking, panic attacks and anxiety attacks.
I know some people have it a million times worse than me, my heart goes out to you.

It's so much easier to get help from others and yourself if you know what is going on.
If you know what stresses on your body are caused by knowing how to cope can help immensely.
Do not be afraid to reach out and get help from others.
You don't need to go through this alone. There are many resources in your area or online.
Getting help is brave and I'm glad I get to go on this journey with you.
You are already so strong for having to deal with this illness.

Things that help me that may help you: Meditation, Jessica Mullen's little meditation videos, spending time with animals, going on walks, spending a little bit of time in nature, comfort shows or cartoons, music that makes you feel good, writing down what's in your head to clear it out, pushing yourself through fears, an app called SAM or other breathing apps on your phone, directing your focus on things that are near you maybe on a comforting color or shape, talking that shit out with someone you trust, being conscious of your breathing.

I'm trying to deal my best with this illness and I hope you can too.
I don't know if anything I said can help in any way but I just thought I would share my experience with you to let you know you aren't alone in this.

Now I thought I'd share some comics people have made that I've liked describing those feelings. 

nicecleanfight.tumblr.com

 

 

explodingdog.tumblr.com

kateordiecomics.com

Another comic here.


-rin.