How can I figure out what exactly my mental issue is so that I can treat myself better/accordingly?

I am very insightful and self aware but I am still uncontrollably depressed and anxious. I do all my tips and tricks to manage it but it still gets in the way.
Asked by Rue
Answered
10/28/2022

Dear Rue,

Firstly, can I say thank you for sharing what you are going through and I’m sorry to hear that you are having a difficult time. You’ve explained that you are uncontrollability depressed and anxious. At the same time, you have taken the step of reaching out to be able to work on these things. This shows self-awareness. 

After reading your message, it felt like there are some questions you’ve asked. You want to know, how to figure out what exactly your mental health issues are so that you can treat yourself better and appropriately. Let’s start by asking, how long ago have you been feeling this way? Can you identify what may have triggered your feelings of depression and anxiety? How long ago did you notice the change? How have you been coping with the changes? How has it impacted you? 

You spoke about how you are insightful and self-aware. It feels like you know a lot about yourself. How do you experience yourself when you are aware of what is happening but yet still feeling down?

I noticed that you mentioned that you have tried some ‘tips and tricks.' Sounds like you have been looking into how to manage your situation. What tips and tricks did you use? What worked and what didn’t work for you? A lot of the time it is helpful to know what our triggers are, and how we are experiencing these feelings of depression and anxiousness when they arise. Once you are able to identify these, grounding techniques can be useful and finding comfort in your own self.

How do you feel about having therapy to explore in more detail what you are going through? Counseling is a non-judgmental space where you can talk openly about what you are going through. There could be things in the here and now or things that you may want to discuss in your past. I guess, as humans, we all have things in the subconscious but only through exploration, can we become aware of them and make lasting change.

Thank you for reaching out. I hope talking about this has helped you.

Warmest wishes,

Mehreen.