Opening Up

Mental health has always been important to me and being a psychology student I know how greatly it affects life. I have a really close friend, we were together since the third grade. She recently opened up to me saying that she has anxiety and even faces anxiety attacks. Her first anxiety attack occurred when she was just fifteen years old. She said that her feet used to shiver and then she used to feel breathless and her body went stiff and numb. Different people have different symptoms and different kinds of triggers. She was facing issues with self esteem and identity. She was bullied by kids in school and people around her commented on how she looked and even her family made fun of her. There were instances where her teacher joked about her appearance in front of the whole class. She didn't even like to look in the mirror and felt miserable. Since she was fifteen she had no idea what anxiety was. She even thought that this was normal and didn't bother to do anything about it.

When she was eighteen, she googled the symptoms and found out what was actually happening to her. Social media played a major role in enlightening people about mental health. She decided to tell her mom that she had anxiety when she was twenty and she even started to go to a therapist which has helped her a lot.

Social media has been really helpful as it spreads awareness on such issues and now it is not a taboo to be have mental health problems. Even though social media has enlightened people there are number of ways on the internet where you can self analyze your mental health problems they are not always accurate or reliable. It is very important to meet a mental health professionals as it could create complications in physical, behavioural and emotional health as well.

The story is based on a true account as told to the author.

About the author

Pavittra is very passionate about mental health and I have always laid emphasis on the importance of it. I like to read articles and videos on psychology and behavior and how it affects relationships and physical health. She has also done courses in creative writing and Indian fiction. She has a passion to learn new skills and gain more knowledge.