Coming from someone who suffers from anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, happiness can be a tough
thing to achieve. It used to bother me when people would tell me to choose happiness and life will be easy. I used to think, โHow
can I just be happy when so many horrible things have happened?โ
I really didnโt use to think about being happy. The thought that usually crossed my mind was getting through the day and
being strong for my parents. The exhausting thing with mental illness is that you are constantly fighting battles inside your head
and most people donโt understand. However, you can be lucky and find people that do and want to help you.
I sought professional help and visited a counselor because my friends could only help so much. After a short time, I started to
see a difference in the world and, therefore, in myself. The panic attacks were down almost 70 percent and I began to remember,
for the first time in months, what being happy felt like. I didnโt want to let go.
I started doing things for myself. I went back to my old hobbies, like reading, writing, painting, going out with friends and I did
not think of anyone else except myself. This might sound selfish but until you are truly happy with who you are, you canโt help
anyone else.
So, for a while, I was selfish and looking for the best version of myself. I started to have a โYOLOโ (You only live once) mindset.
I didnโt care what people thought about me or if they thought about me at all.
The key to happiness is choosing to be happy. It might take a while but I can assure you that it feels so much better than being
sad all the time.
Sometimes you canโt control feeling sad but when you do, just think, โI deserve to be happy.โ
For me, anxiety will always be there but I can choose if itโs in the back of my mind, almost forgotten, or if it rules my life.
So, my advice to you is to go and do those things you have been putting off. Go talk to that friend you havenโt talked to in a
while. Watch that movie that made you laugh. Think of yourself and not of what others think of you.
Iโm not saying that you will be 100 percent happy all the time but try to look for at least one good thing that truly makes you
happy each day. You are worth it and deserve it.
Most important of all, surround yourself with people that love and care about you and avoid those who donโt.
When you feel down, just think about this quote from the TV show โDoctor Whoโ: โThe way I see it, every life is a pile of good
things and bad things. The good things donโt always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things donโt always spoil the
good things and make them unimportant.โ