What My Anxiety and Depression Taught Me

Growing up in a traditional, conservative, Filipino household, I was made to believe that mental health problems, particularly depression, was just a result of lack of prayers and lack of belief in God. But I knew deep in my heart that none of that made sense. I was raised as your typical Christian girl. I attended Sunday schools every Sunday, went to every prayer meeting and even was raised to have faith in God no matter what. As a result, growing up, I developed an unfailing love, trust and faith in God. That is why when I first experienced depression and anxiety, I knew it wasn’t my lack of faith or any religious problems.

You just suddenly feel a void inside of you and you don’t know what you have to do to fill that void. Your face feels so heavy that you can’t seem to find yourself to smile or laugh. Every suicidal thought flashes through your head and you try so hard to hold on for dear life.

Having someone to relate to your mental health problem can be hard to find. You don’t know who’s really there for you or who’s just acting like they are there for you but secretly laughing and gossiping about you behind your back. I think the reason for the attitudes for those types of people is because mental health awareness is not being taken seriously. It is not being fought for. Even people on suicide prevention lines feel like they’re just talking to you because it’s just part of their job and not because they truly care.

One thing I learned from my depression and anxiety is you have to have a good outlet to rant, clamor and just share your inner thoughts and feelings that you have without judgment. We want to help people facing similar problems about mental health in any small way that we can. This blog is a judgmental free zone. This is a safe haven for your rants and inner thoughts and we would love to listen to you and just hear you out. Talk to us through our comment box because we stand with you through your troubles.