A lifetime of mental health

Today on the blog, another real life mental health story. This time from yours truly. ☺️ For a while now I’ve been wanting to talk about the bigger picture of my journey with mental health, not just my most recent experience.

Of course, my most recent experience (starting in 2012) is what triggered this blog and turned me into a mental health advocate. But if I look back, the truth is I’ve been dealing with mental health issues for as long as I can remember. It’s important that we realize how present mental health is in our lives, and that issues could have been there before we even developed awareness of them.

My motivation to film this video was an article I read in the Financial Times about a person who committed suicide after a long stint of stress and burnout. The article mentions that this person had a history of mental health in their family, and I talk more in my video about why this is relevant.

I talk about my experience with mental health since a young age, and why I believe it’s important that we pay close attention to “a history of mental health”. What we can do about it, and how others around us should also be educated.

Here is a short summary of what I cover:

  • First experience with depression around 13/14
  • Second experience asking to see a psychologist around 17, again to deal with depression and a feeling of social isolation
  • Third experience: feeling extremely depressed at university at 19 for a few years
  • Fourth experience: stress and anxiety during my masters’ degree at 23/24
  • Fifth experience: anxiety, burnout, stress during my time in agency at 28
My mental health story

(Please forgive the length of the video, I didn’t edit it down this time because my software is still pretty basic and I felt there wasn’t much that was superfluous. )

I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know what your journey with mental health has been.

When did you first realize you had mental health issues? How have you managed it? Please leave a comment.

Published by

emmacdo

Currently working in marketing and comms in Amsterdam. Passionate about all things digital, writing, dancing, travelling and much more. Mental health blogger and advocate.

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