Hi everyone. My name is Manvi, and I am 18 years old. Here’s a little about my journey with anxiety and therapy. When the first lockdown hit, my anxiety started acting up a lot. I cried often without ever really knowing what I was crying about. I stopped attending online classes. I felt like my life was ruined, and at some point, even lost the will to live. Little did I know then, but this would be my life’s most defining experience.
In September 2020, I sought out therapy as my anxiety worsened. My family has a history of OCD and depression. My parents supported my therapy sessions. Soon after, I started seeing a psychiatrist as well. I received the required treatment and slowly started improving. By January of this year, I felt stronger and more mentally stable. I stopped victimising myself. I started smiling for the sake of smiling. I started doing the things I used to love doing. Most importantly though, I started sharing my mental health journey with my friends, family, and acquaintances on all platforms. I know there is a stigma around mental health and I want to help break that stigma. My name is Manvi Tiwari, and I see a therapist and psychiatrist for my mental health. My mental health has dramatically improved because I asked for help.
I have received many messages about anxiety and many questions around therapy. A lot of people are experiencing what I went through but come from families that are not as liberal or open minded as mine. I can only listen to them speak about their pain. I can provide emotional support. But I cannot help them heal because I am not a professional. It is unfortunate that for a lot of people “professional help is not an option because [their] family does not believe in the concept of mental health.” Others said that they felt “scared” to share their mental health issues with their family. But if you could share with me the fact that you feel constantly fatigued, that your chest tightens when triggered, or that you have lost the will to live, then why not at least try to share that with your family and loved ones? They only want to support you.
I realized professional help regarding mental health is a luxury after listening to the plight of those who reached out to me. People are made to believe that mental health issues do not require professional help. We need to understand that our mind is a part of our body. If we seek help for a virus, we can similarly seek help for mental health. This is the most important reason I decided to talk about my story because I wanted people to know that it’s normal. We can talk about anxiety and mental health illnesses just like we talk about any other disease or discomfort. Our mind is a part of our body. If the body needs help at times then so does the mind. Time for us to normalise mental health, break the stigma surrounding it and make therapy a little more accessible and affordable for all.
Kindly help me spread the word and the strength if you find my story worth the time and efforts.
Love,
Manvi Tiwari