tw // suicide, depression, abuse, rape
Every year on #MentalHealth
https://abs.twimg.com/hashflags... draggable="false" alt=""> Day, I try to share my crazy 5-year journey battling a lifetime of chronic MDD, abuse, panic disorder, and PTSD. Long thread below
<<2015 2020>>
Every year on #MentalHealth
<<2015 2020>>
(disclaimer: nobody who is ill, neurodivergent, in an abusive situation, etc. should ever feel obligated to open up about something vulnerable when it& #39;s not safe or comfortable. I do this for my own reasons, including hoping someone out there gets a semblance of hope from it)
I grew up in an extremely emotionally abusive and sheltered household. My parents were constantly fighting, sometimes violently. I have clouded memories of thrown glass, my dad begging me to call the cops. My brothers and I would have to clean it up after every time, of course.
Unsurprisingly, I began experiencing depression by 10 years old, which quickly evolved into suicidal thoughts by middle school. I was 12 when I made my first plan to hang myself in my closet (obviously, I failed). I was trapped. I had no escape but school and... the Internet.
I quickly attached to the Internet, memes, and video games. When I started realizing my situation wasn& #39;t normal, I had a system down for avoiding my N parents. I gave her perfection at school and didn& #39;t leave my room ever. I met friends online who& #39;d guide me through my illnesses.
High school was insane for me. I spent 12-hour days at school/clubs. I was at the top 1% of my class, graduated with a 4.5 GPA with several UC/CSU acceptances with honors. My parents never questioned anything I did ever, but I was emptier inside than ever. Then cosplay happened.
Cosplay completely changed my life. I always went to cons with my brothers and my parents just thought of them as nerdy baby gatherings, so I& #39;d go and escape to a completely different world. At cons, I could be myself, express myself, and nerd out with people who liked me for me.
VERY long story short... things fell through with going to the 4-year my parents groomed me for. I& #39;d had enough with the abuse and I needed to go. So after graduating in 2015, I left with my car stuffed with possessions, some money I had saved from a PT job, and moved counties.
These were easily the most brutal years of my life. I was couchsurfing for a little while, and then I& #39;d started subletting somewhere. Living on your own without any guidance is HARD. I began getting help but struggled with a lot of stuff. I continued to attend cons as escape, but
at some point, the escape became yet another abusive relationship. I& #39;d been struggling with trauma that occurred between me and a photographer who had groomed and raped me before I turned 18. I& #39;d lost a really big part of what was carrying me emotionally through high school.
Around this time was easily the lowest point of my life:
A med I was on was making me SEVERELY forgetful. In just one week, I had lost my phone, wallet, car (my dad tricked me into him reselling it to force my to come home), my partner. Then I got hit by a car, and, I lost my job
A med I was on was making me SEVERELY forgetful. In just one week, I had lost my phone, wallet, car (my dad tricked me into him reselling it to force my to come home), my partner. Then I got hit by a car, and, I lost my job
At 18 years old, I had nothing. No exaggeration. Cosplay/cons were tainted for me. I had no money to feed myself or pay rent. Nowhere to go, or trust. What was left, really? I& #39;d tried so hard to survive when it feels like the universe wanted me to die. So I made my decision.
I told my friends I would not be living past midnight. I left my apartment with nothing on my person and, well, dissociated for hours wandering for miles.
I came home having not hung myself from a playground swing& #39;s chains after all, so I overdosed on one of my meds. That was my first real attempt that went through. It didn& #39;t kill me, but it paralyzed me. My roommates didn& #39;t even ask why I laid on the floor lifelessly for 24 hrs.
Why talk about it in so much detail? Because after I had lived, a 5150, many repairs to my life, opened up myself to my friends, a LOT of professional help, and realizing it is actually really hard to die... in a way, I finally found peace, empathy, and most importantly, myself.
Fast forward to today. I still had a lot of struggles, even recently with my last abusive relationship, and well, COVID-19. I still go through a lot of med changes and therapy to keep afloat. But oddly enough, 2020 has been the most stable and normal year for me so far.
I live with my best friends, have a healthy relationship, have a stable living situation/income, and have a silly kitty who brings me joy every day. I know I will live with panic attacks, trauma, and depressive episodes for the rest of my life. But I& #39;ve come to terms with it.
I wouldn& #39;t be as strong as I am now without the attention I& #39;ve given to my mental health, the support system I& #39;ve formed, and the kindness I& #39;ve lended myself for 5 years. And I am EXTREMELY lucky to be able to have good care, both routine and all the times I& #39;ve been hospitalized.
I can only wish that everybody had equal opportunities for the cards I was dealt later in my life. Societal and corporate understanding of mental illness, invisible disabilities, and neurodivergence is extremely poor. State systems for mental health are subpar and often abusive.