Family History: I come from a big, loving, catholic family. We are all very close and friendly to each other and to the ones around us. Making friends comes easy and we tend to treat everyone like family. We see the good in everyone and welcome anyone with open arms. Anxiety, depression and alcoholism do run on both the maternal and paternal sides of my family.
I have not been medically diagnosed with either depression or anxiety but I do present signs and symptoms of both. Unfortunately, my family does not believe in medical intervention such as therapy and medication when it comes to mental stability. Due to my family’s beliefs in such things, it is hard to seek support when it comes to getting help and treatment from them. Onset: I noticed I was different from everyone else when I realized that being home alone scared me. It was easier to be home during the week because I would work all day, go visit friends, or go home and sleep. I found it hard to be home on weekends because I did not have anything to keep me occupied.
I felt my anxiety become a problem during the weekends. I would always find reasons to go home and visit my family. Once I was home my anxiety still would not subside. Although I was with family and that is what I wanted, I felt very secluded and alone. Even though I knew my family would be understanding, loving, and supportive about the situation, I did not want to taint my family with this new information about what had happened. I knew my family would try and understand and I would have their sympathy, but none of them have gone through something like this, so there was no way of relating.
I found that I would seek attention and support from my family however, I felt it was not the attention or support . . that may trigger my PTSD symptoms. These therapy sessions have provided me with the tools and techniques needed to relieve stress before allowing it to affect my everyday life and relationship with loved ones. The medications I was directed to take are anti-depressants and anti-anxiety. I was directed to take anti-depressants once daily, this helps to regulate my mood, sleep and how I interact with people.
I take my anti-anxiety medications as needed, this helps me to relax when I feel like I am in a situation I can not handle. This medication helps slow down my central nervous system, relieve anxiety, and helps to be able to take deep breathes. Fortunately, this treatment plan is designed to gradually help me learn to use the tools and techniques to cope on my own without the need of therapy and medications. Which will help me to live a healthy and care free life.
