I also experienced anxiety and depression at different points in my life. My earliest memory of anxiety was in 4th grade, when I transferred to a new school. I often missed school due to feeling extreme nervousness – to the point that I became physically ill.
There are stressors in life that trigger mental health challenges, even though we may have been managing well before. For me, there were various events that prompted declines in my mental health. For example, the Columbine school shooting happened when I was in middle school and my school-anxiety peaked. In more recent years, throughout pregnancy and postpartum, anxiety and depression came to visit me again. (How kind of them!)
Anxiety and depression are like a cold we catch every now and then. Some people have stronger immune systems than others and some folks just happen to catch colds more often. Sometimes the cold lasts a long time and we try everything to manage it until we decide it’s time to finally go to the doctor. I can help you find ways to feel better.