Mental Health is Important
Long story short, I became familiar with mental illness around the age of 18. I was always aware of it, but never too much in depth until I experienced it myself. My family knew I had major anxiety before I did. I had to go through something traumatic for it to be seen. When I was 19, I was in a relationship with a man 8 years older than me, he turned out to be very abusive. That lead from one thing to another and I was hospitalized twice for self harm and attempt of suicide. After being hospitalized the first time, my doctors put me in Intensive Outpatient Therapy (IOP) for 6 weeks. They diagnosed me with anxiety, severe depression, and bipolar 1 disorder. For about a year I was trying all different kinds of medication and new therapists all while being with the same abusive man. I then was in the hospital again for trying to overdose, that was my final straw for both me and my family/friends. I lost so many important people in my life during this growing period, but that showed me who was in my circle vs. who was not. Fast forward almost 2 years later and I’ve grown so much. I am and have been on Effexor for almost a year, this medicine has saved my life. Not that medicine is for everyone, it is for me plus many other healthy coping skills. I am 21 years old attending university as a Psychology Major, I finally made it to the other side. Dealing with mental illness has taught me so much about self love, self awareness, toxicity, insecurities, and a lot more. If I could share my story with the world, I would, just so everyone knows they are not alone.
On September 9rd 2003, my doctor diagnosed me with Bipolar Disorder I . (Bipolar II is mostly depression with some manic episodes. Bipolar I is full blown mania with little depression.
