In this episode I talk about what I've learned from my love/hate relationship with the word “coping” and share some of my coping strategies.

04 The Leotard Test (Or: Distorted Body Image)

This is my journey to mental health. My journey has presented me with challenges since I was very very young. From actual mental health struggles, with social anxiety, OCD, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, depression, suicidal ideation, eating disorders, and self harm, to other parts of my life that required their own mental gymnastics: being a highly sensitive person, being a gay woman (which is not a mental health issue on its own, but living as a suppressed minority in this world can be), being diagnosed with a chronic illness, figuring out I had ADHD at age 40… And I also carry with me some of my forefathers’ scars, as the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. I’m not doing this podcast because it’s all over. I’m not here to tell you how I made it out the other end. Mental health is a lifelong journey that requires constant maintenance, and it keeps presenting us with new challenges as life’s twists and turns unfold. But after thirty-some years of dealing with all of these issues, I do have some insights that I’d love to share.I tell my story with the hope that sharing my experiences with others might make someone else feel less alone, less guilty, less scared and ashamed.I tell my story for others who are struggling and for those who love them.I tell my story so we can take this journey together. Traveling together, the journey is always made easier, or at the very least, more pleasant.This is my story, and my story alone. I am not a doctor, a therapist, or an expert. I am just a person who wants to shed light on subject matters that are all too often kept in the dark.This is a bi-weekly podcast. New episodes are posted every other Tuesday, at 4am EST.Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beforethedawnjourney and on @beforethedawnjourney on Instagram.Art by Dania Latar https://dlatar1.wixsite.com/danialatar/works .