A common struggle: How a mixture of narcotics and alcohol plunged me into anxiety attacks

I got my anxiety disorder or panic attack in July 2012 after I took some alcohol bitters mixed with narcotics that took my whole being to a different level.

From that time till 2014, I was in a different world.

I was taking all kinds of anti-depressants just to be cured but all to no avail. Drugs like Sertraline, Olanzapine, Parizotine, Escitalopram, Citalopram, some I cannot even remember, could not help me.

Aside from all these drugs, some Pastors, Priests and Prophets were also saying that someone tried to poison me, others said someone wanted my job at work, but all these turned to be lies.

I contemplated dying since I felt worthless, but in the latter part of 2015, I told my God that if by His will I get well, I will be an ambassador for anxiety disorder attacks.

God being so good, I am OK but recurrent attacks occur. I no longer take antidepressants. I have been weaned off the drugs and I function normally and productively.

Therefore I am happy to know that someone has been bold to start a project that empowers people like me to openly speak about our struggles. I am available for any support, however, for now, I also observe some of these simple ways of keeping anxiety disorder/depression away and staying in a good mood:

2. Exercise

3. Stay Hydrated with WATER

4. Keep a diary by writing down your emotions

6. Eat Fruits and Vegetables

7. Meditate helps settle the mind, if you can’t, then Pray to lower the stress levels

8. Get Vitamin D along with Omega-3 to boost the immune system levels

9. Be thankful for what you have instead of worrying about what is missing.

10. Love, especially those people that you are closer to.

My name is Kwabotwe, a student of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Sikkim Municipal University. I am currently working as a services manager at a power utility company.

NOTE: This story was shared by Dorcas Efe Mensah, a Mental Health Advocate battling chronic, recurrent depression.

She describes herself as a ‘millennial girl boss’ striving to empower people with a difficult diagnosis like her’s to be the best version of themselves irrespective of whatever hard place they may be.

For more information about her work, visit her Facebook page #Otherslikeme or @otherslikemeGH to learn more about the struggles of persons suffering different kinds of Mental Illnesses in Ghana and what they are doing to make their survival less stressful.