When I was younger, life was pretty good. I was mildly bullied in primary school but, thankfully, it never contributed to any mental health issues. I had an awesome time in high school and had amazing friends.
I felt like I lost hope as we started to come out of the first lockdown in New Zealand. My living situation had been incredibly negative and I was really anxious. During this time, I was a teaching student and, during my first placement out of lockdown, I was under a lot of pressure. The teacher I was working with demanded a lot from me. I was having panic attacks daily that put a lot of strain on my relationship with my best friend at the time. This caused us to have a pretty rough falling out.
Now, I'm finally on the other side of my degree and absolutely loving my job. I have the most amazingly supportive coworkers and people around me.
During my worst struggles, I frequently journaled but also used songwriting as a form of releasing my emotions. I also found calling friends to be helpful even if not directly about what I was struggling with.
Life may be really hard right now and I know everyone always says this but things will get better. Surround yourself with those who are supportive and talk to people
-Claudia C
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