Supporting one another through anxiety and mental illnesses
- 412 views
- 8 times supported
- 27 comments
All comments
Go to the last comment
Joined in 2020
Joined in 2020
22 comments posted |
Rewards
-
Good Advisor
-
Contributor
-
Committed
-
Explorer
-
Friend
Joined in 2021
23 comments posted |
Rewards
-
Good Advisor
-
Contributor
-
Explorer
-
Friend
Joined in 2021
23 comments posted |
Rewards
-
Good Advisor
-
Contributor
-
Explorer
-
Friend
Joined in 2021
Joined in 2020
Joined in 2021
23 comments posted |
Rewards
-
Good Advisor
-
Contributor
-
Explorer
-
Friend
Joined in 2021
23 comments posted |
Rewards
-
Good Advisor
-
Contributor
-
Explorer
-
Friend
Joined in 2021
23 comments posted |
Rewards
-
Good Advisor
-
Contributor
-
Explorer
-
Friend
TalkAboutIt
TalkAboutIt
Last activity on 09/29/2020 at 1:13 PM
Joined in 2020
1 comment posted | 1 in the Living with anxiety and other mental illnesses group
Rewards
Explorer
Hi everyone,
My name is Victoria. I am new to this group. I am 34 years old and I live in Florida. I am a mental health therapist. I am great at my job. My issues do not affect my performance as a therapist; I actually utilize them in an effort to connect more with my clients.
I have suffered from depression and anxiety for most of my life. I have a history of trauma as a result of growing up in a verbally and emotionally abusive household, where I witnessed my father mistreat my mother and experienced him mistreat me as well. I have always suffered from low self-esteem and was bullied in school for my weight, as well as being an easy target for being overly nice and wearing my emotions on my sleeve. I have a great support system that treats me with a lot of love and kindness, but I'm always surprised by it and overly thankful. My friends remind me that it is normal and expected for them to support me, but what I perceive as normal unfortunately is mistreatment and lack of support / validation. I have issues with co-dependency, saying no and people pleasing. I am also constantly worrying, overthinking and find it incredibly difficult - if not impossible - to completely relax.
I am an Empath, and I tend to attract two types of people: people that are very toxic and take, take, take. They are poor communicators and gifted at gaslighting and manipulation. Or I tend to attract the loving, supportive folks that want to remind me that I am not alone. I am non-confrontational and struggle with telling people how I really feel and what I really think without sugarcoating.
I have never broken up with anyone or cut anyone off, out of fear that a) I'll be abandoning someone that needs me / I have extreme empathy for the person, b) there will be hostile repercussions and c) I'm scared of the overwhelming feelings of guilt I will experience as a result.
Side note: my entire life, my family and some friends have dismissed me as being "too much." Too nice. Too sensitive. Too emotional. My sensitivity has been weaponized against me in such a way that I constantly feel inadequate as a result, even though I know rationally that my sensitivity is a large part of the reason I am excellent at my job.
Since the start of the pandemic, my medication has been increased 4 times. I am now on 200mg of Sertraline. And I still feel random, powerful waves of extreme sadness and worry. I am seeing a new therapist, so, I am being proactive about maximizing my resources - including this one now.
Thank you all for listening to me and for whatever support you're willing to show me. Thank you for allowing me to be part of this safe space.
Love,
Victoria a.k.a Vicky