All throughout my life I suffered from Anxiety. I had no idea what it really was, besides that it made parts of my life extremely difficult, and I felt like a weirdo for having it. I didn't know anyone else that dealt with it. My first Panic Attack that I can remember was around 6 years old.
Still to this day, I struggle with it off and on. I more understand anxiety, and have learned how to better understand it. I started Anxiety Medicine when in the summer or 2020, when I had a rough patch it. I was having physical effects what felt like daily. I didn't feel ashamed for needing it, for the first time in my life. I never wanted to be reliant on a medicine, that was what always made me nervous. However, I did more research about it instead of just letting that thought linger. Luckily, I also have an amazing primary care doctor who was willing to explain anxiety medicine to me more detail. I was excited to take that step for myself, and hopefully start to feel better. After a couple trials of on again off again, I am currently off. I'm trying a lot of different approaches to understanding myself and my anxiety more, but that's for a later blog post.
Anxiety wasn't the only illness I faced growing up, but I believe now that I understand it more, it was the root to many other things I was facing. Overstimulation, insecurity, jealousy, depression, emotional, hyper sensitive, you name it. But I'm not alone, and you aren't either.
This Hoodie represents a change for the stigmas of Mental Health. It should be a welcomed conversation, an accepting idea, and supported. Many suffer from mental illnesses but don't acknowledge them, whether because it was frowned upon by their parents or elders. This only causes a chain reaction to their children, and their children. It is not something to be brushed under the rug, or ignored. Everyone faces it at some point in their life, and often WILL consume the victim if they never understand what it is in the first place.
Being someone who is open to trying to understand their own Mental Health and willing to acknowledge the faults and truths in themselves is ADMIRABLE. We aren't perfect. We are human and that's what makes us beautiful and relatable. Start a conversation. Be vulnerable. Be Raw. You never know what difference you could be making.