This issue I choose to talk about today is extremely controversial and has a negative stigma attached to it and it's thanks to all of the negativity everyone attaches to this form of illness that has made so many suffering from it choose to keep mute for fear of been shunned or stigmatized rather than speak out or seek help.
From a very young age, I remember trying to avoid social gatherings as much as I could, sometimes I did succeed in my attempts to stay away but there were other times when either of my parents or an elder would insist I had to take part but those experiences were more torture than fun because I NEVER wanted to be there.
I had realized early that while most kids my age loved making new friends and meeting new people without a care in the world as it should be I on the other hand whenever I met a stranger or was in a social situation where I was forced to interact with unfamiliar people it made me very nervous.
My heart would start beating so fast that sometimes it made it difficult for me to speak coherently and at other times my hands would even be sweaty.
so back then if we had crossed parts on some occasion I would most likely have been the kid in the back wishing she had superpowers so she could make herself invincible so people would stop looking at her.
饾棗饾棞饾棗 饾棞 饾棫饾棝饾棞饾棥饾棡 饾棫饾棝饾棙饾棩饾棙 饾棯饾棓饾棪 饾棪饾棦饾棤饾棙饾棫饾棝饾棞饾棥饾棜 饾棯饾棩饾棦饾棥饾棜 饾棯饾棞饾棫饾棝 饾棤饾棙?
Not for a moment did I even consider there was something wrong with me.
To me, I was just shy and not as bold as the other kids and this became my '饾槙饾槚饾槞饾様饾槇饾槗' for almost 20years.
As you can imagine I was never the one with a thousand friends and I would 饾棥饾棙饾棭饾棙饾棩 have imagined this would change anytime soon but then something happened that blow my perception out the window.
Fast forward to 4years ago. and I registered for the British IELTS exams and those familiar with this exam knows it comes with not just a writing and listening section but a one on one interview with an examiner so yeah for one more reason to be nervous 馃槹
On the day of my interview, I remember sitting in the waiting room because that day I decided to go in earlier hoping that might calm my nerves but it was just getting worse, it got really bad that day I contemplated just forgoing the interview and heading back home because I just couldn't see how I was going to go through it.
Since I had my phone and earpiece with me, I choose to listen to some music but somehow I ended up on YouTube on this peculiar video where a lady was talking about mental health and this video was one of the greatest things that have ever happened to me.
I watched as she explained 饾棙饾棭饾棙饾棩饾棳 single emotion I was feeling at that moment and even gave a name to my 饾槙饾槚饾槞饾様饾槇饾槗 which she called 饾棪.饾棓.饾棗
饾棪 Social
饾棓 Anxiety
饾棗 Disorder
To say I was perplexed would be an understatement, I was downright shocked to realize that all of these years this nervousness I had been managing was anything but normal.
During the video, an exercise was explained meant to help deal with anxiety attacks when it happens and it was called box breathing,
饾槒饾槚饾槥 饾槢饾槚 饾構饾槚 饾槓饾槢?
You just breathe in while counting to 4 in your head, hold it while counting to 4, and then finally exhale through your mouth still counting to 4 in your head, you can repeat the process for as long as needed until you start feeling better.
I did that breathing exercise seating in my chair in that waiting room maybe for about 10minutes before it was my turn to go in for the interview and let's just say that was the FIRST time I would meet a total stranger without that feeling intimidated.
I was completely calm and looked my interviewer in the eyes like she was an individual I had been familiar with all my life.
When I got home I wanted to learn more about what I just found out and realize that if the right actions had been taken by my family when I was younger my entire childhood would have been a lot different but at the same time mine is a society where the term mental illness is generally associated with the clinically insane so there isn't much awareness it isn't a common topic or something a parent would know to look out for in a child.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), mental health is a state of well-being where an individual realizes his or her abilities and can cope with normal stresses of life while working productively to contribute to his or her community
There are quite a few mental health conditions such as anxiety and stress that if left unchecked could lead to more serious mental health conditions like depression but of course, there are also the more severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder/manic depression, and Dementia that has made so many Life's a living nightmare.
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_饾槧饾槹饾樁 饾槾饾樀饾槩饾槼饾樀 饾樃饾槳饾樀饾槱饾槬饾槼饾槩饾樃饾槳饾槸饾槰 饾槯饾槼饾槹饾槷 饾槯饾槩饾槷饾槳饾槶饾樅 饾槩饾槸饾槬 饾槯饾槼饾槳饾槮饾槸饾槬饾槾.
_饾槉饾槹饾槸饾槾饾樀饾槩饾槸饾樀饾槶饾樅 饾槯饾槮饾槮饾槶饾槳饾槸饾槰 饾槬饾槼饾槩饾槳饾槸饾槮饾槬/饾槹饾樁饾樀 饾槹饾槯 饾槮饾槸饾槮饾槼饾槰饾樅.
_饾槥饾槱饾槮饾槸 饾樅饾槹饾樁 饾槾饾樀饾槩饾槼饾樀 饾槩饾樂饾槹饾槳饾槬饾槳饾槸饾槰 饾槩饾槫饾樀饾槳饾樂饾槳饾樀饾槳饾槮饾槾 饾樅饾槹饾樁 饾槮饾槸饾槴饾槹饾樅 饾槳饾槸 饾樀饾槱饾槮 饾槺饾槩饾槾饾樀
_饾槢饾槱饾槩饾樀 饾槫饾槹饾槷饾槾饾樀饾槩饾槸饾樀 饾槯饾槮饾槮饾槶饾槳饾槸饾槰 饾槹饾槯 饾槱饾槮饾槶饾槺饾槶饾槮饾槾饾槾饾槸饾槮饾槾饾槾.
_饾槡饾樁饾槬饾槬饾槮饾槸饾槶饾樅 饾樅饾槹饾樁 饾槾饾樀饾槩饾槼饾樀 饾槾饾槶饾槮饾槮饾槺饾槳饾槸饾槰 饾樀饾槹饾槹 饾槷饾樁饾槫饾槱 饾槹饾槼 饾樀饾槹饾槹 饾槶饾槳饾樀饾樀饾槶饾槮.
_饾槥饾槱饾槮饾槸 饾樅饾槹饾樁 饾槸饾槹饾樀饾槳饾槫饾槮 饾槩饾槸 饾槳饾槸饾槫饾槼饾槮饾槩饾槾饾槮 饾槳饾槸 饾樅饾槹饾樁饾槼 饾樁饾槾饾槮 饾槹饾槯 饾槾饾樁饾槪饾槾饾樀饾槩饾槸饾槫饾槮饾槾 饾槶饾槳饾槵饾槮 饾槩饾槶饾槫饾槹饾槱饾槹饾槶 饾樀饾槹 饾槩饾槶饾樀饾槮饾槼 饾樅饾槹饾樁饾槼 饾槷饾槹饾槹饾槬.
_饾槧饾槹饾樁 饾槪饾槮饾槰饾槳饾槸 饾樀饾槹 饾槱饾槮饾槩饾槼 饾樂饾槹饾槳饾槫饾槮饾槾 饾槳饾槸 饾樅饾槹饾樁饾槼 饾槱饾槮饾槩饾槬
I'm sure quite a few people will relate to one or more of those symptoms I have listed above and in my defense in my case, I had no idea what was going on with me and no one knowledgeable enough to make me understand but rather made to believe it was just me being shy and nothing more.
But there is a second group of people going through severalty health challenges today that are aware of their situation yet choose to keep it quiet and just continue managing in silence, now to this group of people I would like to ask two questions.....
Why haven't you asked for help?
What makes you think by 'managing' this will go away?
In the past 4 years, I have made more friends than I ever did since childhood, and these days in a social setting rather than hide in the back, I would be the girl in the middle of the room surrounded by 10 - 12 close friends, laughing with a glass of wine in her hand.
there were quite a few things I learned during my 4-year journey and because I know someone out there might be wondering just what to do in a similar situation I will share some of the steps I took to get where I am today.
I'm not going to spit medical terms or numbers I don't understand in a bid to explain just how important being active is for improving mental health because I am not a trained person but I can tell you in my case moving helped me a lot.
I got into walking whenever I started feeling caved in and also would do the occasional morning jogs and this never failed to provide relief for me.
Of course, you should decide on whatever physical activity catches your fancy from running to swimming and everything in-between as long as you stick to it.
Also, meditation is said to help a lot and keep the boxed breathing exercise in mind for the next time anxiety hits 馃馃
Okay so this is me just wanting to share a bit with you beautiful people today and I hope this post will make it to the timeline of someone who truly needs it today to make you understand that 饾槧饾槚饾槣 饾槇饾槞饾槍 饾槙饾槚饾槢 饾槇饾槗饾槚饾槙饾槍 馃挒馃挒馃挒
