Courtney’s Story

I am only 17, but I have suffered from General Anxiety Disorder my entire life, due to genetics. I always managed to hide my anxiety that used to eat and eat at me, until about two years ago, when I was sent to a psychiatrist and officially diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder. We knew it was coming, but my parents didn’t think I would need help this early in life. I had to go through multiple medicines and countless doses before I found the right one for me. There were so many points where I wanted to give up, but support from friends and family kept me going. I grew up thinking that my anxiety was my “normal”. Then for some time after my breaking point, I resented everything, myself, my parents, and my entire life. Truthfully, I thought that I was a freak. It saddens me that in some aspects of life, I had to grow up long before any child should have to. Currently though, I am stable, and not only have I found the right medicine for me, but I have started to believe in myself.  It took me a long while to realize that my mental illness isn’t my fault, it wasn’t a weakness. I still have bad days, experience some anxiety and stress daily, and have the occasional panic attack, but I can finally function in a way that I never thought I could before. I know that I will never be “cured”, but I also know that I can still live a beautiful life. This is me, and although my mental illness is part of who I am, I will not let it define me. I want to help stop the stigma of mental illness, because I believe that it is my mission to spread the word to everyone that mental illnesses should not be seen as taboo, they are real, and people need to listen. WE are the voice. As I once heard in a very inspirational speech, together, we can all “turn our disabilities, into possibilities”.