Why I Choose to be Optimistic
I would describe myself as a person with a bubbly personality, and this wasn't how I always use to be. Back in 2018, I was experiencing a great deal of generalized anxiety and depression. My mind was filled with thoughts of negativity and pessimism that really wasn't like me at all. It literally drained me to think and go through every day life. I was sick of tired of it, so after a while I chose to work towards an optimistic mindset. Today, I will be telling you all why I choose to be optimistic.
TRIGGER WARNING: This blog post will be discussing aspects of anxiety and depression that may be triggering to others. Reader discretion is advised.
My Mental Health Backstory
I spoke a little bit about this in my blog post titled "Anxiety, My Friend" when my anxiety first started appearing in my life. I felt like I was going through a quarter-life crisis, for a lack of better terms, because I was about to graduate college and I had no idea what path I wanted to go on with my life. I was on a generalized path of going nowhere - and that terrified me. The thought of nothing being concrete and always abstract started causing me major anxiety throughout my day with some occasional anxiety attacks.
It got to a point where I was getting so anxious about going to work at 7am, that I was throwing up almost daily because I was so anxious just thinking about going to work early. And I had the easiest job! I worked in a computer lab where I only had to work when someone needed help. Otherwise, I could work on homework or relax. Doesn't that sound like a great job?
At first, not working the whole time I was at work started to bother me. And it didn't make sense. But I felt a negative shift in my mindset that wasn't going away. I actually opened up to one of my coworkers, Bryan, about my anxiety and how I have been feeling the past couple of weeks. I should honestly send him a long thank you letter, because he was one of the reasons I got help for my anxiety.
Bryan told me about the on-campus counseling that the university offered free to students, and I was a little skeptical because I have never gotten seen for counseling about my mental health. But I was desperate at this point, and I had to at least try to see if it could work. The on-campus counseling included a psychiatrist that could help with prescribing medicine, in addition to therapy/counseling sessions.
On-campus counseling was a life-saver for me. They offered crisis counseling hours, where you could visit during a few hours of the day without an appointment, and you would be seen by the next available crisis counselor that would help you through your current crisis. The word "crisis" might make it seem like a big deal, but there are moments where your anxiety attacks put you in crisis mode and you are just paralyzed on what to do next.
After a few weeks of counseling and taking medication, I started to get in a better mindset where I could do more research on my own on how to better manage my anxiety and depression symptoms. One of the most important subjects I ran across was the idea of optimism, or how to be optimistic. Being optimistic is more than just something you do - it's a way to live your life. I was tired of having all my thoughts be negative, so I made a conscious effort to change those negative thoughts into positive ones. Yes, it did drain me since it took so much energy to combat these thoughts daily. But eventually, it became second nature to have more positive thoughts than negative ones.
I changed from Prozac to Zoloft, and have been taking it for several years now. I believe in modern medicine and if that is not your belief, that is totally fine. But taking Zoloft and having therapy have helped my mental health immensely ever since I have started them.
The Optimistic Mind Shift
Once I started making a conscious effort to change my negative thoughts into positive ones, it became easier to have an optimistic mindset. My minset shifted from thinking negatively about everything, to turning those negative thoughts into something that was worth my energy. Why would I consciously use my energy and my time to devote my thoughts to something negative & doesn't benefit me? Shouldn't I be using my time better and thinking good things, instead of bad? These might be some questions that you ask yourself, and they helped guide me into thinking optimisticly.
Just think about this - why would you want to spend your entire day devorite to negative & pessimistic thinking? I know that for some people they don't choose to think negatively, it's just how they innately are. But even if negative thoughts are innate for you, you can still at least try to make a conscious effort into being optimistic and thinking about how the current situation can help you, rather than hurt you.
What do you think about this blog post?
I appreciate you if you read to this point, as I felt like I poured my heart out in this blog post.
Thank you for reading about why I choose to be optimistic. Please share this with anyone who needs to hear about the optimstic mindset & my experiences.
