When a Stress Expert Battles Mental Illness

When the anxiety is at its worst, I’m not present for anything. It’s as if I’m going through life with my hands in front of my face. It’s an overwhelming and devastating feeling that is very different from what I used to think anxiety was.

Mental illness arises from a complex linking between one’s genes and environment, and the triggers underlying its onset are often hard, if not impossible, to pinpoint. 

When I injure my body, it’s easy to say “my calf is pulled” or “I have a stress fracture in my heel.” But if I don’t have control over my mind, I can’t help but wonder who am “I.”

When this happens, I do everything I can to remind myself that mental illness is just that—an illness, affecting an organ (the brain) with extremely complex biochemical interactions. I tell myself that I would never feel guilty or blame myself for having a condition that affects my body, like the flu. I should be equally kind with my mind.