My Journey with Multiple Mental Health Diagnoses

The SOVA Project is happy to feature this blog post written by a SOVA Ambassador. SOVA Ambassadors help create meaningful blog posts for us to share.

Dealing with your mental health can be a challenge. For some people, it can become even more challenging when they learn they have multiple mental health diagnoses.

I was first diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), generalized anxiety disorder, and social anxiety. I noticed these disorders often appeared together and can worsened each other’s symptoms. For example, when I would get super stressed and anxious about something, I would start compulsively washing my hands and checking door knobs. Soon, that would cause more anxiety. It was a vicious cycle! However, I knew these were all connected, as they fall under the category of “anxiety disorders”, so it didn’t feel too odd to be diagnosed with several of them. Brain

Behavior therapy helped me control my OCD, and learning to keep good schedules and planning helped me reduce some of the stress that fueled my anxiety. For a while I was doing good, but a few years later my symptoms got worse and new ones appeared, and I was additionally diagnosed with depression.

“Like, really, another diagnosis?” I thought. “This one isn’t even an anxiety disorder!” I began to wonder if I was the only passenger on this multiple diagnosis trip!

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Gaining Momentum

The SOVA Project is happy to feature this blog post written by a SOVA Ambassador. SOVA Ambassadors help create meaningful blog posts for us to share.

Gaining Momentum

When you’re struggling with a mental illness, it can be hard to find the energy to get through each day. Our days are often pretty busy, and it can feel increasingly overwhelming if you aren’t feeling your best. However, I’ve found that when I start doing something that engages my mind and body in a positive way, my energy begins to grow and I find it easier to get through the events, tasks, and challenges of each day. The energy I gain from doing one thing often carries over into the next thing that I do.

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Finding Solace at a Mental Health Vigil

The SOVA Project is happy to feature this blog post written by a SOVA Ambassador. SOVA Ambassadors help create meaningful blog posts for us to share.

My college is one of many around the U.S. that really pushes mental health awareness. During the month of October — the first full week of which is National Mental Health Awareness Week — my school holds dozens of events promoting the discussion of mental illness, stigma reduction, and self care.

Mental Health Month

This past Friday, they held their annual Mental Health Vigil to recognize past and present sufferers of these horrible conditions. After we lit our candles and listened to a few opening remarks from the Dean of Students, students were invited up to the podium to share their stories.

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Downpour

The SOVA Project is happy to share this blog post written by a SOVA Ambassador. SOVA Ambassadors help create meaningful blog posts for us to share.

When I was at my lowest point, I was completely lost. I felt like I no longer knew who I was anymore. I would look at old photographs and think of the younger version of myself who was so full of optimism and passion and wonder where that girl went. In order to try and help myself heal, I decided that I had to start doing things that I used to do that made me happy. With that being said, I began writing. I have always loved writing. Reading poetry inspired me to write my story in poems as a healing mechanism.

I wrote a free verse poem below to help inspire you to continue to be yourself.

Downpour

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The Happiest Country in the World

According to the latest World Happiness Report, Norway is the world’s happiest country.  The report measures many different things to calculate “happiness.”  Some of the measurements include: 8673664872_47a761f1b6

  • Generosity
  • Healthy life expectancy
  • Perceived freedom
  • Having someone to count on
  • Money (or gross national product)
  • Happiness in the workplace

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The Practice of Positivity

Positive

An article by Huffington Post introduced seven different mantras that are helpful in trying to practice positivity:

1. Guide Your Energy

“I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.” — Muhammad Ali

2. Connect with Ourselves

The better we understand the nature of the world, the better we can move in the world. The better we understand the nature of ourselves, the better we can move within ourselves.

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Productivity

Does your mental illness ever keep you in bed all day? Does it make you feel like you can’t do anything? In my experience, bouts of depression have come hand in with elevated levels of un-productivity. And in turn, that makes me feel worse, because at the end of the day, I see checklist after checklist of things that I have not done, and remain unchecked.

Checklist

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Finding Enjoyment in Each Day

When I was in fifth grade, my teacher gave our class a little life tip: find something to look forward to each day. It can be anything from a club or activity you enjoy to going out for ice cream with a friend. My younger self didn’t think much of this advice, but over the years I have come to embrace this into my philosophy of life.

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Journaling for Growth

According to an article published on Psychcentral.com there are many positive health benefits to keeping a journal and writing in it at least once a day. For example, previous research findings support the idea that a healthy cycle of journaling strengthens immune cells- the cells involved in defending our body against diseases- and even helps to decrease symptoms of asthma.

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A few of the noted benefits from the article include:

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