monsta Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 HI! My name is Nicole and I am a 17y/o girl from Sydney, Australia. I just graduted in last month (Class of 2011) and while some may just see it to be a 'phase' or teen angst, I have a few emotional problems. I was diagnosed with severe depression, general anxiety order when i was 13/14 and more recently body dysmorphic disorder which resulted in a brief run in with bulimia. I haven't left my home for almost over two months (including not going to school or my own graduation ceremony) and have polycystic ovary syndrome. It's okay though, I've seen my share of psychologists, psychiatrists, doctors, accupuncturists and naturopaths so I am getting lots of help. Oh and my final exams which will supposedly determine my entire life start in 5 days. But I'm angry at myself for being like this. My life isnt "perfect" but it's pretty damn close. I have the most amazing parents, siblings who for the most part are agreeable and good friends. My family is well-off so I'll admit I've pretty much gotten whatever I asked (with boundaries of course) and I've never experienced any emotional turmoil such as the death of a loved one or even knowing anyone with a terminal illness. So my question is, why the hell am I like this?!?!?!? I see all these kids on TV starving to death and having the crap beat out of them by abusive parents and yet I'm the one taking happy pills! I'm so mad at myself for living the life I have yet feeling like its not good enough. /rant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsta Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 oh god thats a lot longer than i thought itd be, I APOLOGIZE! ill keep everything short now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Hi, welcome. Congrats on graduating. Don't stress too much about the tests. Mental illness doesn't discriminate. It affects a lot of people. Doesn't matter how old, young, well off, etc. Don't be mad at yourself. I'm glad you're seeing people. My "problems" started when I was around 13, I was diagnosed at 14, and I'm now 27. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vapourware Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Hai and welcome to the boards, Good luck with your exams. While a lot of pressure is put on people to perform well on those exams, no, they're not an indicator that will determine the path of the rest of your life. I know it seems that way when you're under the pressure cooker environment of finals, but sometimes your results won't impact as much as you'd think on your life. I've known people who didn't do well in their final exams who went on to pursue law degrees, obtain research Master degrees, etc. In fact, one of my most memorable university lecturers started off working as a labourer as a teenager before his boss wondered if why he was working as one if he was able to translate French. So, while it's fantastic if you do well, if you don't do as well as you expected, there are still plenty of pathways available. Going the TAFE - Uni route is a common one. Sandorfalot is right in that mental illness doesn't discriminate. Also, a problem, no matter what, is a problem if it impacts on your life in any way. You can't compare yourself to other people, because other people are not living your experience, and conversely, you are not living their experience. I think life as a teenager is hard, esp. as a female being bombarded with concepts of what constitutes a "good" body. Not denying that males get the same too, but IMO it seems to impact on females more because those ideas are more aimed towards females. Lastly, don't worry about having to limit your responses. Some of us can be quite wordy. We don't mind as long as you use paragraph breaks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olga Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Welcome to Crazyboards! Write as much as you want, if it helps you to get it down in writing. This is a great place and I hope you make some new friends. And good luck on those exams! olga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Morpho Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Hello Monsta! - I echo what others have written - Mental Illness can hit anyone, no matter what their socio-economic background, family life, ethnicity, or what have you. Trauma and lack of support can make things worse, of course, but like any illness, sometimes there is simply no explanation. I am so glad you have lots of support and resources to help you! Again, that big test seems like it will decide everything, but it does not. Life is full of options. There are a lot of supportive and informed people here and I for one like long posts ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamthelizardqueen Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 oh, Monsta, if you think your intro was long you won't after you see my average posts LOL. yours was very brief, succinct, and spoke of a young person with a keen intelect and a big heart. that you worry about what other people in the world are going through says a lot about you- you sound like a very caring person. please don't guilt yourself for your issues though- you didn't choose them and if you could snap your fingers and make them go away you would. my therapist told me recently that i need to start showing myself some of the compassion and understanding i show other people-that i should talk to myself in my head the way i'd talk to a friend (or my daughter) if they were having similar problems. i'm still trying to wrap my brain around that, but from the way your post read i bet that you wouldn't be hard on one of your siblings if they were having the issues instead. the one thing i wish i could go back and tell my younger self would be 'don't be so hard on yourself all the time'. heck i need to keep telling myself that even today. i know that i always feel like a bother when my health issues cause inconveniences or i need help (and i have a lot of physical issues which makes dealing with this brain garbage really irritating) but it isn't something i've chosen either so i've tried lately not to beat myself up so much (and i'm just getting to that at 40 and my issues started in young childhood but back then, they didn't dx like they do today...was in my very early 20s before i ever saw anyone about my stuff.) i hope that you find a lot of support here. lizzie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamthelizardqueen Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 PS: polycystic ovarian syndrome is enough in and of itself to be a huge stressor- i don't have it but have some similar types of issues chronically and so my heart goes out to you there, too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsta Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 wow i wasnt expecting so many replies! thanks so much for your kind words guys, it really means a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 ~welcome~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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