A Sojourn in the Dark

Being in the darkest times of life can promulgate two possibilities, a lesson for the future or the destruction of the present. This means that our actions, our mindset, our mental health might overcome these difficulties and serves as a lesson for the future or it could destroy who we are. Whereas anxieties, depression, and stress are the main proponents.

There are what other called “spirals” which are an endless thoughts, random thought pop into your head – the possibility of bad things happening in your future or even a decision you made in the past which leads to another thought and another one, until before you know it, you've launched into an anxiety spiral. I have read a book entitled Turtles All the Way Down written by John Green. The author also experienced these spirals, unable to control those thoughts. In the book a line was mentioned by character.

“Your now is not your forever.”

Which means that we should not be stuck on something we cannot control fully, do not be stuck on a thought, but how? Fighting the way we feel when we are anxious can create more anxiety. Knowing the symptoms of our anxiety can make them less threatening. Plus, you'll remember all of the times you've survived feeling anxious before. Another is to be self- compassionate, remember that you are not your thoughts and we should think of our thoughts as distress signals from your brain. Yes, we all have negative thoughts sometimes. But these thoughts don't have to lead to action, or define who you are. I believe that everyone is experiencing these spirals however intensity from person to person differs.

Depression may arise from stress, but we also need to have a broad understanding of our stressors in such case we can apprehend and give immediate actions and solutions. There are a tons of coping mechanism that might help each of our cause. For instance, being socially inclined and having those support systems from our families and peers means having someone to talk to when you feel low. Next is that facing our fears can extinguish the thoughts meddling with our judgement. Another is one of my coping mechanisms, and it is by reflecting the events that happened within the day, in that way I can manage my best actions for the next following days, what to revise and what to give solutions.

“You're both the fire and the water that extinguishes it. You're the narrator, the protagonist, and the sidekick. You're the storyteller and the story told. You are somebody's something, but you are also your you.” -John Green, Turtles All the Way Down

However, we should not self-diagnose our self. Experts do not prefer self-diagnosing such that the problem with self-diagnosing is not that you may be completely wrong in the actual diagnosis, it is that you may skip critical treatment and wind up letting a condition or disease do further damage to your body as a result.

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To learn more you might prefer watching this:

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REFERENCES: Alter, A. (2017). John Green Tells a Story of Emotional Pain and Crippling Anxiety. His Own. Retrieved March 3, 2021. From https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/books/john-green-anxiety-obsessive-compulsive-disorder.html

Parks, L. H. (2019). Don’t Even Try to Self-Diagnose These 5 Ailments. Retrieved March 3, 2021. From https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/HealthU/2019/08/28/dont-even-try-to-self-diagnose-these-5-ailments/