My name is Quinn. I have had a Generalised Anxiety Disorder since I was seven years old, and have lived with it for the past 13 years. When I was younger, I would wake up every morning feeling sick in the stomach, which caused me to be late for school, and on many occasions I missed days off school sick.
My mum took me to the GP who did numerous tests on me. I was even sent to a specialist for an endoscopy. All the tests came back negative. The GP said I was suffering from an anxiety disorder.
My anxiety caused me to suffer from lack of sleep due to all the “what if” questions. It stopped me from going to school camps and sleep overs. I missed the enjoyment of a normal childhood due to constant worrying about anything and everything.
My teachers also spoke to my mum about all my worries at school. They said it was starting to interfere with my school work.
I was referred to Macquarie University where I started in a program for children with anxiety. It was then I was diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder. The program was held over a number of weeks. I met some really nice kids who were going through the same things as me, so we could relate to each other. The program not only taught us how to get our anxiety under control, it also gave us strategies to use if and when we were stressed, tired or unwell. Those were the times when my anxiety would rear it’s ugly head again.
Although my treatment was 12 years ago and I would say my anxiety is 98% under control, I still have days where I am feeling a bit more than a little anxious. I often talk to my mum about the silly thoughts that I have. She usually says, “now is that a real worry? Has it happened yet? Well don’t worry about things that haven’t happened yet, life is too short to worry about those things.”
Although I know this to be true, I do have times where I do worry about the future. I know that no amount of worry is going to change things in my life. With the help of my mum, I am going well and just need to stay on top of the anxiety and get rid of it altogether. Easier said than done, but it’s something I’m working hard on and putting my learned skills into practice.
