BrainTeasers: Unknowingly Brush With Depression & Anxiety

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Depression and anxiety are evil partners in crime. They steal peace and creates havoc in the mind and body. Pretending to be ok will make it worse. There is no shame to seek medical treatment for mental illnesses. 

——Dickson Idler 

This is my first-hand experience of having depression and anxiety, and overcoming them. 

Last job background:

• Worked as a Security Manager (IT Security Infrastructure)
• Managing Security Operations, Security Hardening, Project Management and Risk Assessment
• Four other team members
• Difficult and demanding internal customers 
• Security Project from Hell
• Backstabbing colleague

Symptoms of depression:

• Trouble sleeping
• Frequent migraine attacks 

Symptoms of anxiety: 

• Persistent and severe worrying (that’s sometimes not proportional to what’s going on)
• Overthinking and envisioning worst-case scenarios

Surprisingly, I looked and behave normally. Work is demanding and stressful. I noticed something wrong when the frequency of my migraine got shorter. My mood swings more often and my temper got worse. I joked I am like the hulk, I am always angry! I finally seek treatment for my migraine at the Neuro clinic and was diagnosed with stress-induced migraine. For me, i did not suspect I had depression and anxiety then. To get rid of my migraine, the fastest way was to resign. Instead, I opt to clear most of my leaves and took a month break. I came back better but work is still a killer. I resigned and left the job in Aug 2017. I still need to go to the hospital for my review that took me about than two years to recover. 

Thinking back, if I told the doctor about the stress-induced migraine is a byproduct of my symptoms for depression or anxiety. Things may be different. My afterthought (not medical advice) :

• Not easy to detect people suffering from depression or anxiety. They looked and behaved mostly normal. 
• Once having the symptoms, try to monitor your condition, whether it gets worse or not. 
• Voice out if things get out of hand. At least inform your superior. Whether the situation improves is uncertain. Leave it to the company or leave the company. 
• No matter how stress your job is, once you quit, stress no more, til the next one. 
• Readjust yourself how you handle stuff or make changes to what is within your control. 
• Seek treatment for any mental illness. See a psychiatrist if needed.
• Take a offline break from work if it gets overwhelming. 
• Try meditation to calm your mind. 

Depression and anxiety are partners in crime when you have too much stress (work or personal life) and work overload and anyone can get them. You need to acknowledge you got it and seek help or treatment for it before it gets worse. I am lucky I have a strong will to protect myself. Do you? 

Source info for symptoms:

Anxiety vs. Depression: Which Do I Have (or Both?)