sydneynnn-blog

[sydneynnn-blog]

My Story

I start to overthink everything and my thoughts become more real the further I think about them. The practical portion of my mind begins to weaken and it begins to take over. My throat starts to tighten and I become dizzier by the minute, as I am sweating in panic. Struggling to catch my breath, the abrupt belief that I am ultimately not going to be capable of breathing at all crosses my mind. My name is Sydney Naucler and I have a mental illness called anxiety. I have had anxiety for the last five years of my life. I used to laugh at my sister who had anxiety as a child. I used to repetitively tell her to “stop freaking yourself out” and “nothing is going to happen.” Five years ago I finally understood that the mindset I had towards anxiety while my sister had it had completely transformed to when I had started encountering it. My mindset moved from “why is she so scared all the time, can’t she just stop being scared?” to “I am so incredibly sorry for the things that I had said to you.”

I had my initial anxiety attack when I was thirteen years old. I was in my classroom and I began to cry because I was worried my mom was going to get in a car accident when she was driving to work. My classmates proceeded to inform me to quit worrying and that my mom is going to be okay, just like the things I used to tell my sister. I could not stop agonizing about it, and the consistent reminder that “everything is going to be okay” was not going to calm me down.

My recent anxiety attacks have grown worse and more frequent. For example, I will get a common cold, something I do not usually receive, and will begin getting anxious over the possible occurrence of me not being able to breathe because my throat is sore. Or the turbulence during the plane ride is going to make the plane crash.

It is not only tough for me to cope with anxiety but it is also tough for me to cope with the people that have to cope with me and my anxiety if that makes sense. In other words, my ex-boyfriend did not believe in the effects of anxiety, nor did I when my sister had it, and he ended up making fun of the fact that I was not capable of controlling it. Unsurprisingly, this drove to an increase in my anxiety because not only was I focused on coping with the anxiety attacks that arose, but I was also worried about how my friends and especially my boyfriend at the time, would react to me managing it.

Remember that you are not alone in this process and that several of us have lost people to our mental disorders, and that is okay. The people that stay around are the people who are the most fittest for you. I recall being remarkably upset when my ex-boyfriend broke up with me,  but then I admitted how mentally exhausting it was to continually explain to him what I was going through with the mental illness in my life. The on-going discussions about how I cannot control the panic attacks and worrisome thoughts that go in and out of my head had gotten so old. Through all of that, I am so beyond grateful I no longer have him in my life, in the least bitchy way possible. Like Ariana Grande's hit single, "thank u, next."

Throughout these past five years, I have managed to open up more about my mental illness to those around me and have been searching for more ways to cope with it. Eating better, exercising, being productive, journaling and surrounding myself with people who are good for me and support me through my struggles are all ways of doing so.

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Mental vs. Physical Illness

Imagine possessing the common cold and taking advil with the knowledge of certainty that your cold will ultimately pass. Having your friends pick up chicken noodle soup at the store and advising you to “feel better.” Now envision having an asthma attack, constant headaches, and the never-ending exhausting thoughts come and go in your mind. Mental illnesses can eventually cause physical illnesses to arise, if untreated.

A myth amongst the society is that mental illnesses are not physical illnesses. Based on the fact that numerous people treat them completely differently, it demonstrates the common thought even more. The idea that people with mental illnesses are told “get over it and stop being afraid” and “have you tried adjusting your frame of mind,” makes it even more mentally damaging for them. People with mental illnesses eventually start to accuse themselves and put themselves at fault for these brutal thoughts. People consider this false idea because the people surrounding them are frequently uneducated on the illness, making them feel as if they are in command of their suffering.

Robert J. Szczerba, a Senior Fellow Emeritus and the Corporate Director of Global Healthcare and Life Sciences at Lockheed Martin, addresses, “some individuals don’t realize they are depressed and therefore don’t know how to seek help. The social perception of depression needs to be corrected since it can lead to substance abuse, ruined relationships, insomnia induced symptoms, and even suicide.” It is self-evident that anxiety disorders in patients is very complicated and not well comprehended by others, which needs to improve. Szczerba makes it known that an effort at curing a mental illness can prevent all of the unfavorable circumstances that can develop from the mental illness. Would you still say “it will get better” to someone that had already committed suicide? People need to recognize that it is out of their control!

Szczerba also declares, “when a patient does decide to get help, there are often effective treatment options available which can help up to 70% of patients go into full remission.” This quote confirms that mental illnesses can be treated and have positively affected people’s lives. By educating more people on mental illnesses, there is a better possibility of putting a conclusion to the undiscovered and overlooked mental illness in others. More people need to accept the fact that we have no control over the exhausting thoughts that come and go in our heads. I too, have no control over it, just like we do not over physical illnesses. All in all, mental and physical illnesses should be treated the same way because both lead to adverse situations if left untreated.

Szczerba, Robert J. “What If Physical Illness Were Treated Like Mental Illness?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 13 Mar. 2016, https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertszczerba/2016/03/08/what-if-physical-illness-were-treated-like-mental-illness/#3fc32add7f43.

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Breathin’- A Simple Tactic

There have been multiple famous figures that have opened up about their mental illnesses, Ariana Grande being one of them. On a popular social media platform called Twitter, Grande inscribes her song “Breathin” is about her anxiety. She tweets, “isss about my anxiety. i felt i was floating for like 3 months last year & not in a nice way. like i was outside my body? was v scary and i couldn’t breath well. so it’s ab that. & lord of voices in my head singin. i hope it comforts ppl who hear it pls.”

Grande was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD after the bombing at her Manchester U.K. concert in 2017. The 25-year-old was hesitant to share this information in her interviews since 22 had passed away during this disastrous event.

It goes on to show that her anxiety has been self-evident throughout the years based on her tweet making known that her hit song was, in fact, about the mental illness anxiety. Throughout her “Breathin” lyrics, Grande recites “Some days, things just take way too much of my energy / I look up and the whole room’s spinning / You take my cares away / I get so overcomplicate, people tell me to medicate.” These lyrics compose a picture of the fight Grande has gone through in the last couple of years. Grande addresses that the activities she operates through every day have taken way too much of her energy and the room is always spinning.

This is crucial because so many people struggle with anxiety and most are even hesitant to uncover their mental illness to others. Having distinguished personages open up about their conflicts discards the thought of mental illness as a taboo subject to others, leading to them opening up about their recurring mental obstacle.

Grande even demonstrates ways she has experienced her mental illness, which has allowed for those not knowledgeable about anxiety to become more familiar with this disorder and the excruciating impact it plays in one's life. This is important because the people that fight anxiety do not know how to explain what they succumb to, so when it is recited in a popular hit song, most are quick to recognize that this is, in fact, what people with mental illnesses, like anxiety, cope with. Upon the hit song’s release, Grande’s fans were quick to respond in emphatic ways appreciating her and her music for making them feel as if they are no longer alone against this ongoing mental battle.

“Ariana Grande - Breathin.” YouTube, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN0iD0pI3o0.

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Music In An Anxious Person’s Life

When having an anxiety attack or when you’re stressed out about something, music is known to help distract you from current things. It’s obvious many people have different musical preferences, so it's up to you to decide what you like. Even if you do not listen to music, it may be worth listening because it is a very simple way to calm yourself down.

Music is linked to our emotions, making it an extremely effective way to manage our stress. I know that when I am stressed out, I rely on a music genre called “Lowfi” music. By listening to Lowfi music, it allows me to calm myself down and to deep breath without freaking myself out.

Classical music, according to Jane Collingwood, a longtime journalist for Psych Central, “can have a beneficial effect on our physiological functions, slowing the pulse and heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and decreasing the levels of stress hormones.” First the music calms our mental mind which ultimately affects our physical state. When people are stressed they frequently think listening to music will stress them out more and that it might feel like a waste of time, yet we know now that that is not the case.

It is fairly easy to incorporate music into busy lives including playing music in the car while you’re driving or when you’re in the shower. Or it might also be beneficial to turn the stereo on instead of the television. It is also well known that singing can help distract and release tension that you’re carrying along with you on a day-to-day basis. Why not sing along to some of your favorite songs to get things off your chest?

Collingwood mentions, “making music can reduce burnout and improve mood among nursing students.” Based on the study Collingwood mentioned, it might be a good idea to learn how to play music to relieve stress. Playing the guitar and/or the piano may be a great way to do so. When I knew how to play piano I would use it as a simple distraction and it would calm me down and make all of my negative thoughts disappear. The sounds that the piano dispersed almost gave me a sense of what is reality and what isn’t.

All in all, music should be more apparent in an anxious person’s life because it helps not only your mental health, but your physical health too. It soothes your stress hormones allowing you to calm yourself down.

Collingwood, Jane. “The Power of Music To Reduce Stress.” Psych Central, 8 Oct. 2018, https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-power-of-music-to-reduce-stress/.

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Steps To Reducing Anxiety

Youtube is a highly popular video sharing service where numerous people share, comment, like and upload their videos. A YouTuber referred to as Supreme Banana with 42,000 subscribers, has uploaded a video called “My Anxiety Routine My 10 Steps To Reducing Anxiety.” In this video, she discusses the ten steps she exercises to diminish her anxiety. She shared this video to assist others to reduce their anxiety as well.

The first step she suggests to reducing anxiety is to acknowledge. Most people do not recognize that it is anxiety that they’re experiencing and that they need to accept the reality that it is. Supreme Banana mentions, “to be honest with yourself” because it helps you overcome the anxiety attacks and overdramatized thoughts. For step two Supreme Banana declares that it is good to breathe because it promotes calming you down. She states, “close your eyes and take three deep ass breaths. not breaths with your ass, just a regular breath.” During the video, she presents her tone as lighthearted and not super serious to make others feel comfortable. Additionally, she swears and jokes throughout the video revealing that she is personally comfortable sharing and opening up about her mental illness. This is meaningful because it makes it easier for others to be complacent with their anxiety because others, especially influencers like Supreme Banana, are.

People are frequently too anxious to go to someone and admit to their mental illness and seldom cannot afford a therapist. Youtubers providing their advice and sharing how they cope with anxiety helps others deal with their own. The ten steps Supreme Banana shares with her viewers are things that are reasonably accessible to perform. By listing these several steps, it saves a few uncomfortable trips for those who view her videos.

Considering anxiety and mental illnesses are known as a taboo subject, people often turn to the internet and social media to address their struggles. So it is very significant when people are competent in being straight-forward with their mental illness concerns.

Throughout the video, Supreme Banana opens up about her ways of coping with anxiety and through posting this video on youtube, she is assisting various people that have a similar thing that she does, a mental illness. This is valuable to so many people because not only does it help the characters watching with anxiety, but additionally the people without it. It educates the people that do not have anxiety about how they can help people with mental illness. Too few people know how to aid people with mental disorders, and by posting videos like Supreme Banana’s, it overall develops the familiarity of anxiety for those that do not cope with it already.

Banana, Supreme. “My Anxiety RoutineMy 10 Steps To Reducing Anxiety.” YouTube, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-uwZAHq-jo.

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You Are Not The Only Wallflower

”The Perks of Being a Wallflower" came out in 2012, following the tale of a boy named Charlie that portrays depression, anxiety, and isolation. Due to the traumatic events of his aunt dying in a car accident and his best friend to suicide, his life revolves around mental illnesses. Once he Charlie is introduced to Sam and Patrick, two charismatic siblings, Charlie then had a more comfortable time 'coming out of his shell.' Throughout the course of the book and film, Charlie's self-esteem increases, while his anxiety level decreases.

The title of the film is called the perks of being a wallflower because 1) Charlie is the wallflower, also known as the outsider, and 2) because there are perks of being a wallflower The perks being you are able to observe people without getting wound up in their insanity. Except for the only disadvantage to this is that you are continuously wound up in your own insanity, that being Charlie's mental illnesses. Although Charlie was presented with depression, social anxiety, and isolation, and he soon began to grow and find things that interested and distracted him from the neverending thoughts and emotions. This is a prime example of how people with mental illnesses can cope with their anxiety by finding distractions, for example, painting, to get their minds off of their worry-filled thoughts.

At the end of "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," Charlie had begun to address to his therapist:

Charlie: There is so much pain. And I-I-I don't know how to not notice it.

Dr. Burton: What's hurting you?

Charlie: No, not…not me. It's them! It's  …it's everyone. It never stops. Do you understand?

Charlie has opened up to his therapist how everybody else's problems have turned into his own. You begin to carry everyone else's struggles and pains and soon will start to grow too big. This goes to show that people need to be more open about their mental illnesses because if you withhold it for too long, your worries and other's worries could become your own as well. It is not easy for others to address their mental struggles either because they are afraid of what others might think of them, which is precisely what Charlie thought.  

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" is a great film for people with mental illnesses to watch because it will hopefully give them a sense of relief because it reveals that you are not alone. Personally, this movie brings me comfort because I, too, have anxiety and blame myself and withhold a lot of my friend's pain, and it makes me feel relieved because more people are going through this as well. The best part about the film is the ending scene, where Charlie, Sam, and Patrick are driving in the truck, blasting Heroes by David Bowie. Charlie says, "I can see it. This one moment when you know you're not a sad story. You are alive. And you stand up and see the lights on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder. And you're listening to that song and that drive with the people whom you love most in this world. And in this moment, I swear, we are infinite." This quote reveals mental illness comes pain and sacrifice, yet there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. There is still going to be a beneficial side to this on-going emotional rollercoaster.

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Directed by John Malkovich, Lianne Halfon, and Russell Smith, Summit Entertainment, 21 Sept. 2012.

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Anxiety in Arizona

It isn’t a mystery that multiple students struggle in college, not only with their workload but also with their mental health concerns. Many in this age group strive to comprehend handling the overwhelming academic pressure and social tension that comes accompanying their college experience. The parental responsibilities take over along with the stress.

At the University of Arizona they offer counseling and psychiatric services. On their website they recite their hours and contact information. According to University of Arizona’s health website, “more than 60% of the students surveyed at Counseling and Psych Services (CAPS) said they came in for help with anxiety.” This unveils that many students recognize the fact they require guidance when they recognize they do have anxiety.

The website gives simple methods to “deal with anxiety” including breathe, take baby steps, move your body, and more. It is noticeably stressful for students to manage college level classes and a completely new environment. What makes it even more challenging is attaching anxiety and other mental illnesses, adding more weight to their shoulders.

University of Arizona not only addresses the fact that students come to them when they are anxious, but they also mention, “nearly one in six college students have been diagnosed with/treated for anxiety and more than 20% report anxiety affects their academic performance.” The data that 20% reports that anxiety influences their academic performance comes as no shock to me. I am a college student from the University of Arizona and my classes have been a lot more challenging as I juggle them simultaneously with my anxiety. I have missed many classes due to panic attacks and have left many assignments incomplete due to the health issue.

The sad truth is that teachers, in my experience, are more sympathetic towards students with physical illnesses. What about the five years of coping with a mental illness? Don’t you think mental illness comes with physical illnesses?

The University of Arizona should instruct more teachers and students on what and how to treat and even talk about mental illnesses. Too few people are educated on the illnesses and need to be aware of what they can and cannot cause.

Yes, The University of Arizona offers help, but why is it that I feel ashamed to go to CAPS and get the help I need when not even my teachers and peers understand what I have been going through? More universities need to offer help and being open about the subject is what everyone needs. There is a cure.

“Stress and Anxiety.” Campus Health, 13 Aug. 2019, https://health.arizona.edu/stress-and-anxiety.