Intro

[collegestudent22]

I thought I should do a little more in-depth introduction hoping maybe someone will draw some strength from my experiences.

I've been dealing with anxiety for what feels like my whole life. I used to have a really bad phobia with severe weather when I was a kid and I still struggle with it now. When I was around 12-13 years old I started having a lot of depression and had self-harmed for a while. I never really had anyone to talk to because my family life was unstable with my dad being an alcoholic and emotionally abusive. I went like that for a long time and just thought it was my life. Later in high school, I started having panic attacks and couldn't sleep at night because I was so nervous about things I didn't know. It was hard to hide the problems I was having and once I graduated I started going to therapy and taking some medication in preparation for going to college out of state.

Once I was going to move in though I had a major mental break down that resulted in me withdrawing from school and moving back home. Presently I am a year strong in therapy and after going through 5 different medications in a year I found Duloxetine which seems to work for me with minimal side effects. I got into the University of Denver and now am finished with my first year of college.

I still have bad days and I'm still learning how to manage my anxiety and depression and I don't have a great support system around me. But it does get better and it's okay for things to go wrong my whole life turned upside down and I really didn't see a point anymore. I hope to get some support and give some support on this site I'm really glad I found this place.

[Solidrain]

Welcome! You are so strong, it sounds like you’ve been through a lot but have managed to come out on top. Congrats on finishing your first year of college! I found my first year to be the hardest, mainly with just adjusting to the college life.

I also don’t have much of a support system in my life for my depression, but I’ve found wonderful support here. Everyone here is going through something so everyone is very understanding. The kindness is overwhelming. I hope you enjoy this site!