Using this to document my feelings. Have had depression/anxiety in varying degrees for 10 years. Now 26. Want to change my life for the better. No more unhealthy coping mechanisms. Going strong so far. Hope I can keep it up!
It's such a positive step to realise you have unhealthy coping mechanisms and want to change things. We all try to resist change but my friend told me this week 'If you do what you've always do, you'll get what you always got'.
The best way of keeping up with your positive new start is to talk, talk and talk some more. Tell someone how you feel. If they don't help, tell someone else. My son was gambling his wages every month and juggling money to pay everything off. He was depressed and anxious. I encouraged him to go to GA. It still took a couple of years to start turning things around, but GA was the first time he was able to admit that he gambled. It was also the first time he realised he was not the only person with this problem. Slowly over the next year he told a female friend who supported him. Then he felt ready to tell a male friend, Then he got a few counselling sessions. It has been a year now since he gambled. You have been battling this for 10 years since you were 16. That shows you are a survivor. I really hope you have got some support. You must have had a really tough 10 years. It's great that you feel ready to change and you're going strong. Keep going, and don't give up if it doesn't all work out at first. Be kind to yourself.
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