Content Warning: anxiety, depression, nail-biting/skin picking
Thinking back, I’ve always had a sinking feeling in my stomach and the need to pace. I thought it was normal until I reached my late 20s and started having extreme fears of not being enough. It wasn’t until I started Googling questions that I found out that my nail-biting and days of not wanting to leave a dark room were signs of anxiety and depression. Getting my diagnosis officially from my doctor made me feel broken. Why do I have this? Why don’t others show signs of this condition like I do? I felt extremely alone. It wasn’t until I started sharing my experiences that I learned that others around me had developed coping skills that I never knew about. So, today, I practice strategies to help manage my anxiety and depression. Some days the skills work and other days they don’t. I’m still on my journey to help manage my anxiety and depression, and I hope this letter helps someone out in the world feel a little less alone.
