Coping with a Mental Health Diagnosis at a Young Age

Hi! In coming to terms with it—knowing your diagnosis can be such a huge help. I found that it enabled me to have a lot more empathy for myself instead of having a constant inner dialogue of shame around what I was feeling. If you get to a place where you can feel empathy for yourself—write a letter to future you. Write one to whatever different mood states you may find yourself in. Sometimes, you just need a lifeline when you suddenly find yourself triggered, stuck, and scared. In the dark times, know that your feelings are valid and real, but so is the hope that things will get better.

Im currently in a serious depression episode. I lay in bed most days just thinking too much. Occasionally ill do something that interests me but rarely. I find joy in tiny things and hold onto the joy as long as i can cuz i dont know if ill feel it again.😥💕

One thing I found particularly helpful is journaling, even just a sentence a day (there are several apps that can help). Make sure to include any emotions you feel. I found it really helpful to have an emotion chart (often used by writers) to get more specific emotions than mad or sad. It also helps to write what happened during the day. Personally, mood shifts can sometimes be triggered by something or made worse by something, even if it wouldn't normally effect me. The first step to getting help is helping yourself. You don't need to "cure" yourself. The goal is to understand. Understanding my emotions and where they may come from has been extremely helpful for me. It made the diagnosis less scary. It's also a really helpful tool for therapy. As to being hard on yourself I would say, when feeling down, take care of yourself. You haven't done anything wrong. It isn't shameful. Don't put down what keeps you here. The ways you find to cope (as long as they aren't harmful) are serving a purpose to get you through. I would recommend therapy. Don't be discouraged if you don't connect with a therapist and don't be afraid to ask for what you need. Therapy has helped me more than I can ever explain and made me much more comfortable with the idea of getting on medication.

The only thing I can think of is be mindful. Practice just playing attention to yourself and your emotions. Think before you act or whatever the situation is. Just be mindful. You will hear it alot but it is true. Meditation helps and it comes in many different forms. Know your feeling and know the onset. Know what could be the causes and what helps to get you out. Hopefully this helps in some aspect. I'm still fighting every day but I have been refusing medication. I really think I need to find a doctor and get on something.