Sunday, July 10, 2016

Guest Post - Dealing with Depression and Anxiety by Ravinder Kaur

Today I have the pleasure of adding another guest post to my site. Rav from the website What She Says has allowed me to share her experiences with depression. If you haven't ever stop by www.whatshesays.net, give it a shot. It's a great site with a little something for everyone.
Thanks for sharing, Rav!

Having depression and anxiety issues can be really difficult to deal with and  really difficult to explain to people who haven't had to deal with it themselves. But if you allow it to, it can also teach you a lot about yourself and aid you in helping others. This blog post outlines what helped me before I can help anyone else. I hope this helps you!

Know what you need
This isn't something you will instantly know but figure out what works for you the most. When I've had anxiety attacks I prefer to take time out, be alone, talk myself down and deep big breaths. I find being surrounded by people, including friends and family, elevates my anxiety further. However when I'm having a low (feeling depressed) I find time alone will make me feel much worse, in this instance I prefer getting up and out.

Figure the causes
Has something triggered your anxiety or depression? Is it the people around you, is it something you've just seen, is it the colour of your nail polish, is it that your house needs a clean? See whether you can either take yourself away from the situation or deal with it if it's in your control. Once you've established the cause it can be much easier to deal with the cause or to avoid it causing you further distress.

Who do you have around you
I always found it really difficult being around 2 types of people: the people who did not understand at all (these people told me I was too young to even be depressed and would tell me to grow up and get over it) or the people who would sympathise too much (yes this is also possible). Remember you can change your friends but you can't change your family so it may not be as simple as finding a new group of people to surround yourself with. Maybe the people around you don't understand how you feel but if you reach out you might find just the person or people you need e.g. helplines, people online (including us bloggers), counselling. You never have to feel alone!

What makes you happy
What honestly makes you happy? This may change time to time, what you may have enjoyed previously could be what you need a change from - so ask yourself the question and see whether you can make any changes to make you feel happier. First think of the small things;  should you join the gym, start running, start reading books, going out for a coffee on your own or with a friend, going for walks to clear your head, blogging or knitting. These activities could change your whole lifestyle. Now think big, are you happy with your career? Are you being treated right by your partner? Are you happy with where you live?

How can you help
When I first got diagnosed with depression and the anxiety attacks started, I had absolutely no idea how to deal with it. With time I have learnt how to deal with it enough to allow myself live my life, of course not everything is all dandy but I now know  how to deal with my anxiety without fainting or blacking out. So although it can be absolutely horrible to deal with, you have the ability to learn about yourself, to put yourself first and try become happier in your life, share your experiences and help the people around you.


Pretend you can step away from yourself and look back in... What do you see? What would you like to see? Can you change anything?


Bio:
My name is Rav and I'm 21 years old. I first got diagnosed with depression when I was too young to even fully understand it. I used to faint whenever my anxiety was at it's worst which in turn made me paranoid about fainting in the streets, school and college! With the years gone by I've learnt to manage my depression and anxiety and wish the same for anyone else suffering from it. Aside from this, I work in an insurance company and blog about light-hearted subjects such as entertainment, beauty and fashion.

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