Sometimes, for no apparent reason other than for the sake of a middle stress factor, I find myself to be short of breath, trembling mildly, and unable to form a coherent thought, leaving me to further worry about my current state. In addition, sometimes, which can last from a few days to weeks on end, I feel extremely sad and almost for no apparent reason.

For the majority of my life, specifically, until I was a senior in high school, I had no idea what was making me feel this way. During these times, I would be constantly in a vast array of emotions, going from happy and motivated to extremely sad and defeated. I knew that I should not have been feeling this way, as nothing horrible was occurring in my life, but, at the same time, I had no clue whatsoever as to why I was extremely sad. So, most of the time, I felt completely hopeless in my situation, and I continued to bottle up the intense amount of feelings that I was internally experiencing; however, this was more damaging than it was beneficial.

By the time that I was a senior in high school, I was extremely depressed and anxious. Even though senior year of high school is supposed to be exciting, I dreaded going to school, taking part in the activities that I had once loved and just seeing all of the people at school in general. Eventually, I had reached a peak in my anxiety and depression and my mother, who was concerned about my well-being, took me to see a doctor.

After seeing a doctor and telling him about what I was feeling internally, he said that I was most likely suffering for anxiety and depression. When I first heard this I was thrown a little off balance, as I had not thought of myself as suffering from anxiety and depression. One of the groups that I had taken part in during my high school career taught us tactics on how to help people who are suffering from anxiety and depression, including the symptoms for those who suffer from them, and I thought that I was not at all like this. But slowly I began to realize how different the symptoms of anxiety and depression can be.

The symptoms of anxiety and depression can vary drastically, and, because it is caused by chemical imbalances in the brain, it made me believe that I was just a prone to worrying and that nothing was really wrong with me. Nevertheless, after I had accepted the fact that I had anxiety and depression I was able to start treating it.

After being diagnosed, I was put on medication and was taught exercises on how to control my anxiety and depression. Nevertheless, I was still pretty discouraged. I was not a fan of the medication that I was put on, as, if I was not able to take it regularly, I would experience mood swings that left me extremely angry. Concerning the exercises that I was taught, although they did help to an extent, I was still feeling extremely anxious and depressed most of the time.

One thing that truly helped me overcome my anxiety and depression was by talking to myself, thereby giving myself a dialogue that helped me see that my worrying was just worrying, and that, no matter how big the problem, it is nothing that cannot be fixed in due time. I still feel anxious and depressed sometimes, but not as bad as I once did, as I have learned to accept both my strengths and my weaknesses.