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WesternCanadaKing · 03-23-2012, 12:23 AM

I am a very neurotic person and I get pretty debilitating anxiety at times. Right up until a year ago I was usually depressed, and highly insecure. Sleeping at night was always an ordeal because my mind would be plagued with vicious thoughts of how badly I was screwing up my life and wasting my youth. I felt like I was majorly screwed up and was constantly worried about people finding out what I was 'really' like. I didn't realise it at the time, but I was making it impossible for people to be close to me.

I too was terrified of going to therapy. There is a huge stigma surrounding men seeking help for mental disorders, we are 'meant' to roll with life's punches. One day I realised how ridiculous it was to think like this. I am the only person who has to feel my anxiety, I am the only person there is to live my life, and **** it, I'm gonna do what I need to do to get better. I didn't know it at the time, but starting to think like this was the most important thing I could do.

So I started seeing a therapist, and she was able to help me a great deal. It gave me strength knowing I was finally doing something to help myself get better. I started exercising and I learned how to play the guitar. I stopped living my life by other people's standards, and instead focused on my own standards of happiness. It was a slow process, but last summer I'd say I finally 'found' myself. I did this without medication, however I'm not gonna lie, my good friend Mary Jane certainly didn't hurt. The day I knew I was better was the day I realized and believed that I was really no different from everyone else in the world.

I hope this helps. Everybody has anxiety in different ways, for different reasons, and at different levels. Do NOT feel embarrassed about therapy. I just wish I had done it sooner.

03-23-2012, 12:23 AM	#10
WesternCanadaKing Giver of Calculators Join Date: Sep 2005 Exp:	I am a very neurotic person and I get pretty debilitating anxiety at times. Right up until a year ago I was usually depressed, and highly insecure. Sleeping at night was always an ordeal because my mind would be plagued with vicious thoughts of how badly I was screwing up my life and wasting my youth. I felt like I was majorly screwed up and was constantly worried about people finding out what I was 'really' like. I didn't realise it at the time, but I was making it impossible for people to be close to me. I too was terrified of going to therapy. There is a huge stigma surrounding men seeking help for mental disorders, we are 'meant' to roll with life's punches. One day I realised how ridiculous it was to think like this. I am the only person who has to feel my anxiety, I am the only person there is to live my life, and **** it, I'm gonna do what I need to do to get better. I didn't know it at the time, but starting to think like this was the most important thing I could do. So I started seeing a therapist, and she was able to help me a great deal. It gave me strength knowing I was finally doing something to help myself get better. I started exercising and I learned how to play the guitar. I stopped living my life by other people's standards, and instead focused on my own standards of happiness. It was a slow process, but last summer I'd say I finally 'found' myself. I did this without medication, however I'm not gonna lie, my good friend Mary Jane certainly didn't hurt. The day I knew I was better was the day I realized and believed that I was really no different from everyone else in the world. I hope this helps. Everybody has anxiety in different ways, for different reasons, and at different levels. Do NOT feel embarrassed about therapy. I just wish I had done it sooner.