Yes, I was told that I have had dysthymia (mild chronic depression), gad, some post traumatic stress, some social anxiety. Probably had the depression a lot of my life starting in childhood; had to deal with some heavy issues (mom had schizophrenia) and I had to grow up fast to take on responsibilities mom couldn't. My dad was an immigrant from Sicily and did not speak much english nor drive so from the age of 17 I did all the driving to the grocery store, etc., speaking for my parents, housework.... But, I did what I thought I had to do for them. What was difficult back then was not having anyone to talk about my feelings. Today I am much, much better. I did counseling for a while and my counselor taught my some cognitive behavioral therapy which actually did help a lot. I would write down a negative thought and replace it with a more reasonably thought. Doing this over and over helped me put things into perspective and I realized how wrong my way of thinking was. Mainly I was extremely hard on myself. Now that I am older I look back at all that I have done for my parents and it has been quite a bit, lots of sacrifice and lots of patience but in knowing what I have done my confidence and self esteem have more than doubled. That is another lesson: by helping others you help yourself in return.
take care,
lilgina
