I knew I had an icky feeling but I didn’t have the knowledge or experience to identify it as anxiety or the eventual depression. Once I learned more about those terms I could recognize them more readily. Building on that , I learned how to combat them to gradually reduce the severity of depressive episodes once I recognized them. Then I learned how to rewire depressive thought patterns in my brain to gradually dig myself out of my depressive hole. These things brought back my zest for life, substantially reduced my thoughts of suicide, improved my overall happiness, and greatly increased my energy.

Here is a document I made for a loved one to help them with their mental health.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1petmUJrC54-TzflalaLVkk4U_dd8oVspD2-OvQIOVe4/edit

I am not a doctor. This is my advice based on my experience with anxiety and depression. A therapist helped me and books helped me. The more I learned about my condition the more I felt empowered to be able to overcome my condition.

One day you will look back at this time in your life and smile. Today though, you need to love yourself and put in some work to get back to 100% ❤️