generalized anxiety disorder

No other act is more symbolic of adulthood and one’s “coming of age,” but there are numerous reasons why I don’t drive.

Seasonal Affective Disorder, a common mood disorder that was first described by Dr. Norman Rosenthal in 1984, is mostly discussed in terms of how it affects people in winter.
When I found out about summer SAD a few years ago through some online sleuthing, I felt relieved. I finally knew what was going on with me.

I was 40 years old the first time I said the words I need help — even though more than three decades had passed since I first became aware that something was not right.

Perhaps more than other cultures, America is obsessed with the illusion that if we prepare, we can avoid. Instead of learning to be resilient and cope with hardship, we drive ourselves dangerously close to madness trying to come up with ways to prevent catastrophes.

I’ve been around for 19 whole years now, and while I by no means have all the answers on how to cope with anxiety, I like to think that I have a few pretty useful ones. But I also like to think that Seal and Heidi Klum will get back together one day, so proceed with caution.

I’ve been in treatment, at different times, for mental health issues all my adult life. I’ve been medicated with different drugs in different combinations, and not medicated, all at the behest of well-intentioned doctors and psychiatric professionals. And I was hospitalized in 2013 for a week in the psych ward at the local medical center.

Like millions of other women, I struggle every day with anxiety. But not anymore. Fuck it.