WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY#LetsTalkAboutIt

Posted on Oct 10, 2018

October 10th is World Mental Health Day!

Our team at Chisovn strives to play an active part in ending the stigma around mental health conditions.

We believe that one of the major issues regarding mental health conditions is the lack of discussion about it.

In order to end the stigma, silence the shame, and normalize mental health conditions we need to talk about it, more!

#LetsTalkAboutIt aims to bring awareness to mental health conditions, one story at a time. 💚Use the #letstalkaboutit hashtag + #chisovn to share your #mentalhealth story with us -

Peruse down below for stories recently shared with us in honor of World Mental Health Day!

“I’ve struggled with anxiety and panic attacks for the past 9 years. It all started with a diagnosis for a condition that I had never heard of and there wasn’t much information available about it at the time. It was hard to understand what was happening to me. I felt scared all the time of everything especially sickness. I eventually learned my anxiety and panic attacks was centered around health issues and a fear of sickness. It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions through the years with big change and new environments being a typical trigger. Currently, my anxiety is high and I’ve had a couple of panic attacks in the past 2 weeks. I’m taking prescription medicine and praying. Prayer and talking to close family and friends help me calm down. I’m also learning exercise makes me feel better too. I’m determined to defeat anxiety and everything that comes with it one day.”

"Quite often I'm referred to as the strong one, but I believe that perception comes from my fear of sharing. I've always been afraid to open up. It got to a point where everything started to crash in on me with issues in my career, marriage and self image. I experienced panic attacks, PTSD, and situational depression. However, through therapy, I learned the importance of sharing and being transparent. In this instance, silence is not golden."

“I experienced sexual abuse by a relative when I was around 8 or 9 years old; this triggered depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts especially considering since it happened on more than one occasion. I remained silent about my abuse for 17 years, until I just couldn’t take it anymore. I finally sought help and fast forward to today, I continue to see a therapist, and more recently a psychiatrist, who have helped me to understand more about what is going on with me. I was diagnosed with Chronic PTSD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and once I did more research on these disorders I had a better understanding of why I struggled so much. I stay on top of the mental illness by practicing deep breathing throughout the day, thymus thumping, yoga and exercise when I can. I also take Lexapro at the lowest dose every other day to wean myself off of it, after being on it for more than a year. I also maintain a blog, use self-expression in the form of creating unique accessories, and run a support group. The genetic history of mental illness in my family (my father had schizophrenia) combined with the abuse I experienced as a child, definitely challenges my brain; however, I work on retraining my amygdala daily with positive affirmations to help change my thought patterns.”

“Anxiety has been something that has done its best to take joy, self love and peace from me and it triumphed for most of my pre-teens, adolescent and early adulthood years. As I have come to understand my purpose and place in this existence, I am aware that anxiety is just a flimsy attempt on impeding on my purpose.
I am not here to say that anxiety does not creep up every now and again, wanting to ruin my morning with false thoughts of “imperfections” on my body or even worry of how I am perceived after certain conversations. I am here to say that I am aware. I am here to say I am open to a world where I can continue to expand beyond the walls of anxiety or any constructed limitations. This is my coming out.”

“Like any other kind affliction or ailment being bi-polar took time for me to accept and manage. Initially, it was hard to process and I didn’t want the label and stigma that is associated with mental illness. Because of that resistance to addressing the issue I was inconsistent with my medication and treatment plans, which as you can assume is a recipe for disaster. But over time I couldn’t deny the writing on the wall and finally accepted that my mind was different.
In many ways I appreciated those differences, but you have to take the bad with the good. Learning how many other people have bi-polar and went on to lead successful careers and lives gave me hope. I know one of the greatest lessons I learned was how empowering and helpful it can be to open up and share about mental ‘skillness’. Not only is it liberating to not hide who you are, but people can also be more helpful and understanding if they notice any unusual behavior.”

“Anxiety has been with me since I was a middle school student. My dr told my mom to give me a good dinner and an early night’s rest, rest as if that wasn't already happening. After that, I quickly learned how to internalize my anxiety and by my senior year of college, I had it down to about 2 or 3 panic attacks a year. Lasting as short as a few minutes up to 30 minutes - these exhausting events were always moments or days before a deadline or when stress is running high. My last attack was August 2018. Since that diagnosis, more than 20 years ago, I've certainly grown to understand and listen to my body. Every day I have to remind myself of two things; the largest room in the world is the room for improvement and nothing on this earth was created to be forever.”