It was a bright and sunny day in June when I anxiously sent
out my son’s first birthday invitation to the family. Everyone had been calling
me to harass me about what we were going to do for his big day. My older sister
called me and said she planned on making his first cake. My younger sister said
she was buying enough balloons to fill his room. All I could do was smile and
laugh at how crazy excited my family was about this event. Two weeks later I
started receiving RSVP’s and as I anticipated everyone was replying yes. It was
at that moment that I began getting anxious; where was I going to fit everyone?
Will they like his party? What are they going to eat? The list continued to
grow and my breathing got faster, my palms got sweaty, little black spots
appeared in the sky. What was this I was feeling? Another anxiety attack, I
haven’t had one of these in years. I tried calming myself down without any
success, my husband came in the room and saw me curled up in the bathtub
breathing heavy and crying saying “I can’t make it stop, I can’t make it stop.”
I don’t know what he did if anything but eventually I came to and calmed myself
down. A few weeks passed and I received another RSVP from my older sister. She
replied NO. I was so lost and confused because she was making the cake. I
called her, texted her, messaged her on Facebook and heard nothing back. I was
angry, annoyed and fed up with her at this point for not reaching out to me to
explain herself.
A few days later I received a call from her and as angry as
I still was I answered the phone pleasantly. When I heard the tone in her voice
I instantly became concerned, she informed me that she had been going through
some mental health issues and she was trying to get them under control. She too
has been experiencing anxiety attack along with suffering from depression like
my mother did at one time. I’m still in awe when I think about what my sister
is going through. A few months ago my younger sister got into a car accident
and had anxiety attacks every time she drove in inclement weather.
I’ve done my research on mental health in families and I’ve
come to the conclusion that it’s not passed on through genes but some
situations that you are exposed to can cause depression to occur. For example,
if your mother grew up isolated without any friends and as you got older the
same thing happened to you, then you have a higher risk of developing depression.
In other countries mental illness is something that kept quiet about. People
don’t openly discuss such thing and many doctors don’t make recommendations for
treatment unless you ask for it. In countries like Brazil and Australia doctors
ignore a lot of the signs and symptoms that their patients display. Unlike here
in the USA where you have open resources to go to any psychologist or simply
talking to a doctor will warrant them prescribing medication to treat what your
ailments may be. The stigma that mental illness is something that should be
frown upon I hope will disappear so that those who have this illness feel open
enough to talk to someone else who may be going through the same thing.
While I may not want a career in mental health, I do want
those who are dealing with this disease to be able to communicate what they’re
going through with me. Social anxieties exist everywhere and if I can help
someone overcome any mental illness even slightly then it will make me feel
like I’ve done the society a “thumbs up.”
Hi Jazmine, mental health is a very real topic. I believe many struggle with understanding the list of mental illness that is out here. As a child, I suffered with panic/anxiety attacks. My attacks were severe. Growing up, my parents were in denial. They continued to tell me that there was nothing wrong with me. I later learned that panic/anxiety attacks were associated to fears. I was a very fearful person. My attacks continued into the first year of my marriage. It was causing issues in my marriage. I finally began to pray and ask God to help me conquer my fears. It wasn't until then, that I was free from the attacks. I never took any meds for it, but I could identify it. I am sorry that your family member is dealing with it. I believe with support and prayer, she will get through it. Many families deal with mental health issues due to so many reasons such as; the loss of a job, financial problems, death in family etc. As early childhood professionals, we will advocate and help support our families and the families we serve. Thanks for sharing your post. I will keep your sister in my thoughts and prayers.
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