A little less lonely...
Posted: January 14th, 2016, 6:31 pm
Hey everyone, my name is Jen, I am 32 years old and suffer with general anxiety, social anxiety, depression, ADD and dermatillomania. I am a people pleaser, chronic apologizer, and constantly feel like I have never lived up to my potential. But on the positive side, I have a wonderful husband that is very supportive, even though he does not understand mental illness. He tries very hard and I love him for it. He's very good to me and makes an effort to learn about the things that affect me.
This podcast and everything it offers has made a huge impact on my life already, and I just discovered it 3 weeks ago. The loneliness of my issues can be overwhelming. So when I can't sleep and I need something to keep my head from going to the bad places, I can just pick up my headphones, plug them into my phone and listen for awhile. While listening, I constantly think "Yes! That is me!" and feel better. It's not just me. I have since made a therapy appointment (I am lucky enough to have free mental health services through my insurance, if I can manage to jump through the right hoops) and am optimistic that I can make some kind of progress.
I am hoping to contribute by reading and writing posts to these forums to be a part of the community here. It's hard for me, having social anxiety, but it might be a great way to put myself out there and try something. I fear and crave social interaction. I have a lot of gratitude towards Paul for putting himself out there and creating all this. As dramatic as it sounds, it may just help me to turn my life around so I can love me and stop the destructive behaviors I constantly engage in. So before I read this all back to myself and decided to change a million things because I think I sound like I'm trying too hard, I am going to hit submit and walk away.
Sidenote: I am in the bathroom at work hiding, as I do most days at least once. I hope some can appreciate the overshare.
Sidenote#2: Before posting I noticed you could save a draft and went back correcting my post anyways... at least I tried.
This podcast and everything it offers has made a huge impact on my life already, and I just discovered it 3 weeks ago. The loneliness of my issues can be overwhelming. So when I can't sleep and I need something to keep my head from going to the bad places, I can just pick up my headphones, plug them into my phone and listen for awhile. While listening, I constantly think "Yes! That is me!" and feel better. It's not just me. I have since made a therapy appointment (I am lucky enough to have free mental health services through my insurance, if I can manage to jump through the right hoops) and am optimistic that I can make some kind of progress.
I am hoping to contribute by reading and writing posts to these forums to be a part of the community here. It's hard for me, having social anxiety, but it might be a great way to put myself out there and try something. I fear and crave social interaction. I have a lot of gratitude towards Paul for putting himself out there and creating all this. As dramatic as it sounds, it may just help me to turn my life around so I can love me and stop the destructive behaviors I constantly engage in. So before I read this all back to myself and decided to change a million things because I think I sound like I'm trying too hard, I am going to hit submit and walk away.
Sidenote: I am in the bathroom at work hiding, as I do most days at least once. I hope some can appreciate the overshare.
Sidenote#2: Before posting I noticed you could save a draft and went back correcting my post anyways... at least I tried.