Fountain Valley: Understanding Anxiety and Depression

An introductory book on how to talk about two of the most common mental illnesses faced by college students and Americans in general: anxiety and depression.

Courtesy of the author

My balance was out of quilter. The field of vision was blurred. Breathing was shallow and fast, like running a marathon without rest. But my legs were shaky and I couldn’t walk. I wanted to vomit. I stumbled out of the shower without washing it completely and fell on the bed. I didn’t know what was going on. All I knew was that I didn’t want to play the baseball game I was supposed to play later.

This was me who had my first but not last panic attack nine years ago. It all started with a baseball tournament where I got up at 4:45 am and got ready to play. It wasn’t my first bout of anxiety, but it was the moment that made me realize how much anxiety could paralyze my behavior.

For me, the picture above is a fair representation of how anxiety and depression manifest themselves internally. You can be trapped behind the glass and witness the sunshine, but you don’t always feel its brilliance and warmth yourself. Glass blurs the photo. Anxiety and depression are often blurry, with undefined boundaries and boundaries, and appearing in unexpected moments and in unexpected ways.

However, anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses are often unfocused subjects. They remain a private, personal issue, not a perceived predicament that affects millions. Claudia Vernon, Coastline CollegeMental Health Therapist has been practicing longer than I am alive (Claudia has been treating under her belt for 24 years until my 22-year-old mediocre being) .. She has been working as a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) for 19 years. And she condemned and told me it was time to change our way of speaking about these issues, especially anxiety and depression. Both are “common in the range of 18-25 years”. So let’s talk about it.

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Anxiety and depression overview

Anxiety and depression are two of the most common mental illnesses. According to Nami 40 Million U.S. Adults Have Anxiety Disorders over- 17 million US adults Last year there was a major depressive episode.

Multiple factors, including lifestyle, genetics, physicochemical, cultural, trauma, etc., are all associated with partially causing or contributing to anxiety and depression. The reason why someone or many have / have anxiety or depression helps to resolve these illnesses in the long run, but epidemics are occurring in the meantime (many in the world). Let’s face the fact that an epidemic is happening now) of untreated anxiety and depression. First and foremost, it needs to be non-stigmatic.

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Factors of embarrassment and shame

People are hesitant to ask for help in all things, not just mental health. More specifically, we build and offend anxiety, fear, pain, and basically a lot of emotions.

“Just because someone feels they need it doesn’t mean they’re missing,” says Claudia. Our American culture likes to present an independent, sturdy and tough image. Claudia described it as an approach of “pulling yourself up with our bootstrap.” And that image permeates our daily lives, how we treat others, and how we treat ourselves. Claudia believes that hesitating to ask for help is at least partly cultural, and when looking at clients from different backgrounds, she works as an “emotional teacher” rather than as a “therapist.” He says he likes to assemble.

“Emotions are overlooked and can be overwhelming and unmanageable,” Claudia continues. Mental health professionals can help you analyze our feelings. It provides support when organizing daily turmoil, much like cleaning dirty laundry and putting on a shirt again before washing (I’m not the only one to do that).

If you or your peers find you shutting down or ignoring your emotions, simply admit that it’s okay to have them. Then talk to someone about those feelings and consider opening them up. If you don’t have someone easy to talk to, consider looking for an expert.There are some Online treatment services and apps Launched in the last few years, it offers affordability and convenience.

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Education is not enough

Claudia claimed to have nailed me as a writer and pseudo-educator. “In reality, there is no educational execution.” Alias, reading articles and knowing the terms is not enough (but we’ll come back to the language later). I’ve seen hundreds of magazines and newspapers cover these topics article by article. I know what you’re thinking, “Isn’t this the exact non-stigma you were talking about?” Still, a record number of Americans still pull their stomach anxiety and I feel the severity of depression in their shoulders.

Tell me, or Claudia (much smarter than me): “I know how to eat right, but that doesn’t mean I eat right … I know I should exercise. I know exactly why. That’s good for me. But is there any practice in that knowledge? ”While writing this, I’m sitting on the couch with a boxer wearing a T-shirt that hasn’t been washed for three days, so touch Claudia.

Her claim is logical and it is very important to understand. Education alone cannot lead us there. This is just one aspect of condemning this dialogue on anxiety and depression. Basically, conversation begins with education. Not only that. Be intentional about your mental health, just as you are intentional about what you eat and how much you exercise. Set aside 5-10 minutes (at least) each day and think about what you are experiencing and how it feels. Mindfulness meditation It made me wonder personally You can help too..

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“Well, I’m not that bad” problem

In her more than 20 years of treatment (patent pending), Claudia says there is a series of common phrases she has heard over and over again. From our conversation, we learned that she wasn’t the only one listening to them. If you surveyed all US social workers, therapists, counselors, or mental health professionals (and perhaps many of the informal mental health professionals in our system (such as teachers)), they probably Will say the same thing.Phrases like: “Well, I’m not that bad …” or “I’m not so crazy …” or “Well, I’m not. There yet…”

In addition to echoing that it is very underrated Ice cube flick with similar name, “I’m not There “Still” is the most ridiculous, but somehow the most common. Its very wording imagines that there is a fictitious extreme (“far”There“) Anxiety and depression, where most Americans, including college students, think they’ll never hit. According to Claudia,” mental health is a continuum. You can always come and seek professional help. I will. “

Claudia points out that the problem is often even more insidious for young people. They believe that college and high school students do not need to seek help because they are well educated to know the basics of anxiety and depression.

We can all handle different sets of pressures. Being tolerable to me can cause a major depressive episode for someone else. What causes me anxious fear may be a walk in the park for you. For your college students in the room, say it in a way that I know you can understand: a rating scale to show that it may be time for dialogue or action, mental health A +, There is no D- of anxiety. And that’s good in the sense that the notion that “normal” exists can be abolished. But it is challenging in that it makes us more aware of our own limits and makes us comfortable to acknowledge the limits said.

Be there considerate And Understanding.. When someone says you’re anxious or depressed, don’t give up your uncontrollable feelings. Sympathize.. We cannot control our emotions, but we can control or understand how we react to them.

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Language and how to use it

Another problem with helping someone through anxiety and depression occurs even after you let them open a little.All these articles and mental health education efforts are here Do pay off. According to Claudia, “Children these days have a better vocabulary than our older generation.” Perhaps they have been taught more words that can literally express their feelings beyond “bad,” “good,” and “good.”

Think of it this way. When you go to the doctor and want to explain the pain on your side, you have to use all the words at your disposal: is it a burning pain? Stab? Is it sharp or slow? Will it build over time? Children and adults need exactly the same, as your counselor and therapist can’t literally enter your mind and body to see what’s going on, just like your doctor. I need vocabulary. If you make an appointment with a counselor (good for you!), Search for words that can adequately explain how you felt about a particular situation or throughout the day.

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Final idea

Obviously, these are not the final final thoughts on this issue. This is an argument that needs to be repeated over and over again until resources for all people exist. And People feel comfortable reaching out to those resources. Talking to Claudia, common mental illnesses, especially anxiety and depression here, are not disappointing by having them or hearing that your peers and family have them. It turned out to be so widespread. They are just another aspect of being already stressful, especially in today’s pandemics. Claudia talked about how to instill open dialogue on these issues in culture, conversation and compassionate understanding in order to effectively eliminate stigma. Do not make this article your sole resource. Introduce it, treat it as a small introductory book, and then go and learn more. Don’t forget to carry out that learning.

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This press release was created by Coastline College Blog.. The expressed views are the author’s own.