It’s mental health awareness week so thought I’d do a post. I’m pretty vocal when it comes to discussing mental health and I wish more were too. 

I have a threesome regularly – depression, anxiety and OCD. Depression and anxiety are of equal shittiness, OCD the king of the castle.  OCD is vile and it’s hard to explain.  I don’t spend time lining up things and making sure the house is tidy or washing my hands.  I do however get overwhelmed with ridiculous thoughts. Like a broken record. They are exhausting and it takes every ounce of energy to deal with it.  It’s like anxiety on steroids, the what ifs? Become amplified WHAT IF’S? Harder, better, faster, stronger as Kanye would say. 

Anxiety is an everyday occurrence. I’m not plagued 24/7 like some people but parts in everyday will be spent with pins and needles coursing through my limbs accompanied by a loud pulse, a foggy brain and an urge to get out of wherever I am.   It often greets me on waking like an elephant sat on my legs.  When anxiety is high OCD is worse, OCD in turns feeds anxiety; see my hamster wheel? I wish it would f@ck off.

Depression – if you know me you know my story it has ups, it has downs and it has some wayyyy downs and my depression I believe stems from my past, my genetics and the two beauts above.  They go hand in hand in hand And it’s hard sometimes to function “normally” I should add lots of my friends and lots of my family suffer from depression, anxiety, some even from OCD too. It’s beginning to feel like the norm.

We have to be brave enough to talk about it though.  I talked about my OCD and found 5 people close to me who were suffering too, in silence, not anymore. 

ASD is usually accompanied by depression, anxiety and often OCD in some form.  To think of Reilly, or any of my kids ever suffering like I have in the past breaks my heart in two but I’m armed.  Armed with knowledge, empathy, experience and understanding.

The thing that works best for me is distraction, I keep busy.  It’s a well known fact that anyone suffering from bouts of depression feel worthless at some point.  My charity work not only helps others but it helps me, there is a method to my chaotic life madness – it actually helps me too.  

I’m mindful, I listen to podcasts about anxiety and learn from others, I read up on alternative therapies, I take meds, I’ve had counselling. 

I’m defo 1 in 4 have been for longer than I care to mention.  You wouldn’t guess it 90% of the time as I’m a great pretender, we all are. With mental health problems rising rapidly in kids we need them to understand mental health issues,  how can we do that if we suffer in silence? 

#mentalhealthawarenessweek #itsoknottobeok