...and we are okay with that...

About Us
What's a Neurotypical?
Our Blog

The Aftermath

February 17, 2019

Sorry we've been so quiet...

September 14, 2017

Trusting Again

July 17, 2017

"Crazy"

May 28, 2017

The Stigma of Perfection

May 19, 2017

Asking for help is a strength we all need

May 8, 2017

Me? Socially Awkward? Never!

March 18, 2017

Self Esteem 101

February 27, 2017

Last Night Was Fun. Let’s Never Do It Again.

February 5, 2017

I'm allowed?!???! To be angry?!?!??

January 2, 2017

Please reload

Recent Posts

“I have some advice for you” they said…

February 14, 2016

1/1
Please reload

Featured Posts

It isn’t “just in your head”

March 22, 2016

|

Megan

 

So while I was home for break, my big dog dragged me over on the concrete and I was left with road rash on both knees, one hand and one ankle. When I put Neosporin on them, they burned even worse. I went to one of the walk-in clinics, and not only are they infected, but that burning sensation was an allergic reaction to Neosporin. I met one person over the summer who was also allergic, and I was skeptical because I’ve never heard of it. Joke’s on me now.

 

I was venting about this with one of my close college friends and she straight up just asked “how do you even function?” The only answer I can give is “not the way I wanted to”.

 

I, like most other college freshman, started out with a bunch of things that I wanted to do now that my life was not ruled by academia. I wanted to start going to the gym more, gain more muscle, join clubs that cultivated interests and get a job. I wanted to run more, stay up late with friends, go out, spend weekends exploring the city. . . 

 

Then the Incident happened. I ended up juggling doctor’s appointments, trying to find a new therapist, trying to find a psychiatrist, then I needed to find a GI doctor and all of my joint pain started affecting my everyday life. I got headaches. I felt like my brain was a concrete mixer that’s been left out too long and the stuck sludge was my thoughts. I seemed to be moving at the pace of a snail.

 

But don’t worry guys, it’s “just anxiety”. Or maybe I was “just depressed”.

 

When my therapist asked me why it had taken so long for me to admit that I was sick, I told her that I just thought my body was weird. Bad knees run in my family, my stomach works different than everyone else, but the line fed to me most by the people around me was that it was my anxiety. My mental health was causing my physical symptoms. Right? Right?

 

Your mind and body are a two-way street. But I was looking at it a very one sided way. Despite the fact that I was less depressed and anxious than I had been in a while, walking up and down stairs was leaving me more out of breath and rarely did I have a day without feeling like I had the stomach flu. Then when my pain and nausea and lack of ability to do normal teenager things would make me depressed, my brain would scream SEE YOU’RE MAKING THIS SHIT UP, DON’T BE AN ATTENTION SEEKER. But I forgot that the street goes both ways.

 

An imbalance of chemicals in your brain can cause physical symptoms. But physical symptoms can also cause you to feel depressed or anxious. Regardless of their cause, your pain/discomfort deserves attention. It’s VALID. Ask your doctor/therapist about it, ask their opinion on ways of managing or maybe getting tests on your vitamin/mineral/hormone levels. Your experience is real, and deserves to be treated as such. Don’t sell yourself short by thinking “it’s all in your head”. It’s okay to treat the symptoms while you treat the cause. They are real and valid and should be treated as such. Don’t deny yourself that.

 

DISCLAMIER: There are many different forms of anxiety and depression. This is one story of many. Always ask a medical professional’s advice.

 

Please reload

Follow Us

I'm busy working on my blog posts. Watch this space!

Please reload

Search By Tags

February 2019 (1)

September 2017 (1)

July 2017 (1)

May 2017 (3)

March 2017 (1)

February 2017 (2)

January 2017 (1)

December 2016 (3)

November 2016 (2)

October 2016 (3)

September 2016 (2)

August 2016 (4)

July 2016 (3)

June 2016 (3)

May 2016 (2)

April 2016 (11)

March 2016 (4)

February 2016 (6)

Please reload

Archive
  • Facebook Basic Square
  • Twitter Basic Square
  • Google+ Basic Square