My Vulnerable Mental Health Story [adhd, anxiety, depression, ocd, grief, pmdd]

Sharing my vulnerable mental health story to help you feel less alone and provide hope for healing. I share about my adult adhd diagnosis, trauma, grief, depression, ocd, anxiety, pmdd and more. Stick around until the end for where I'm at now and what has helped. Happy Mental Health Awareness Month!

I share about how most of my mental illness started with law school burnout and evolved overtime as I dealt with suicide grief and trauma.

SUMMARY OF WHAT HAS HELPED ME IN MY HEALING AND RECOVERY: Talk therapy to understand myself more, unpack my people pleasing, set boundaries and learn emotional regulation skills. Practicing self compassion and acceptance (see link below) and learning to feel my feelings and process my grief. Meds to help with my adhd at times. Exposure and response prevention therapy to help my anxiety/ocd. GUPTA program (see link below) to help my health anxiety. Building community, taking adult dance classes, climbing and getting out of my comfort zone. Understanding and working with my menstrual cycle, Designing a life that works for my brain and letting go of shame. I’m sure there is so much more, but I hope this helps you!


If you are in danger, you can make a call or live chat here: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org

LINKS:

Self acceptance and compassion / Rain technique - https://www.tarabrach.com/rain/
GUPTA Program that helped my chronic illness anxiety(this is an affiliate link, so I get 20% off if you purchase): https://www.guptaprogram.com/aff/441/


TIME STAMPS:

00:00 Intro + overview of mental health challenges
00:59 Law school, anxiety, trichotillomania,
02:49 Adult adhd diagnosis, adhd meds
05:35 Trauma, hypervigilance, stalker
06:20 Studying for bar exam, chronic illness, isolating myself from everyone
09:23 Moved to San Diego, law school burnout, depression, anxiety attacks
11:22 Grief, my sisters suicide, high functioning depression,
15:25 first time in therapy, feeling numb emotionally
16:24 Moved to Santa Cruz, pandemic and mental health, survival mode
17:52 ocd
19:21 mental health success story, healing from depression, exposure and response prevention
24:12 Summary of what has helped me feel more like myself again
26:16 Self acceptance and compassion and letting go of shame
26:55 Healing is so worth it and you deserve it and you are not alone