There's Help, There's Hope: Learn From My Mistakes

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 Here I am... five days from graduation. FIVE. Never in a million years would I have ever thought that I would be the first person in my family to graduate, yet here I am. These past few years have not been a cakewalk. If anything, just the opposite. 

These past few weeks, I have faced a ton of obstacles- especially mentally. I have been dragged by all limbs to ever corner of the world and I am tired. 

Maybe tired is an understatement, but it's true. I have four jobs and two internships plus being a titleholder, sometimes my mental health gets put on the back burner and that shouldn't be taken lightly. But for a while... I did. With Christmas coming up, I stare at the Christmas decorations I have just put up and we are what? Like a week from Christmas? I know, I'm a little behind schedule, but I guess deep down I've buried the reason. 

Last April was the last time I talked to my parents due to an extremely toxic situation. Last Christmas was the first Christmas ever that I had spent away from someone who was related to me and I've come to realize that I've begun to hate the holidays.  Anything about the holidays repulsed me and towards the middle of the semester, I really threw myself into my work- which wasn't a bad thing because work really began piling up due to the hurricane and the amount of work in my grad school workload. I thought that my problems could be buried underneath my school, my work, my crown, and my stress.  You see that was where I went wrong. 

Everyone makes mistakes and whenever I should have gone to therapy, I chose heavy weights and sleep over really improving my mental health.  This was my mistake; I didn't have time to go therapy whenever I should have gone when I noticed the signs. Sometimes, the signs are there but so many are ignored by the people around us- and sometimes by our own selves. We forget that we aren't robots, machines that can run endlessly. we forget we get tired, burnt out. sad, and anxious. We miss those signs, and sometimes if we miss it in someone else, there may not be another chance. To help see the signs of being burnt out, onset of panic attacks, or a bout of depression, here are a view of the symptoms:

-being withdrawn

-changes in appetite

-irritation

-changes in sleep patterns

- mood swings

-fatigue

-loss of interest in things that you - or the person- used to be interested in.

-apathy

-discontentment

-anxiety

- and acting aggressively and/or violently

These are only a few, but the major ones that will be present in someone showing signs and symptoms. Know that a listening ear will always be the difference between someone's today and someone's tomorrow and learn from what I did: don't think you can do it alone. There are people to help, there's people to listen, there's hope, you are not alone.

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