My Mental Health is Number One

I know I have talked previously about mental health, thyroid disease, and thyroid eye disease (TED), but thought I would take a deeper dive into it.

I know for me personally, when I was first diagnosed with Graves Disease, my anxiety definitely got worse. I have mentioned before that I have always had anxiety and OCD since I was little, so this was amplified as my thyroid disease became more prevalent. It was something I already could not help but was made ten times worse with an untreated diagnosis since it took me a little bit to find a doctor that was a good fit for me. Once I was on medication I definitely noticed it was a little better. Not gone, because I do not think it will ever be fully gone, but better than it was before, and a little more manageable.

My mental health after my thyroid eye disease diagnosis

Fast forward to my TED diagnosis. When I was told I have a mild form and it became real, I was upset and embarrassed to go out in public because how would my eyes look to other people? What would others think? I had so many thoughts.  I was literally so scared and nervous to go out in public. One of my eyes appeared bigger than the other for a while as well, and that made me just want to hide out. It was such a scary and emotional time for me. When I would look in the mirror, I would not recognize the person staring back at me. Queue the anxiety again.

I can confidently say that since I saw it come back and reach a new level I have gone to the right doctors and am on medication. I have been to therapy, and I have a psychologist. I am on medication for OCD and anxiety, and it has helped tremendously. I honestly do not even want to think about where I would be or how I would feel if I did not take these steps.

I put my mental health first

That is why I am all for putting your mental health first, before anything! In my mind, it is a no brainer. You have to help yourself in anyway you can. Why suffer if there are options to help you out? It’s scary admitting to yourself that you need some help, but that’s the first step to putting your mental health first. I knew I was always going to be dealing with this in some form. I’ve had anxiety and OCD since I was little and it was amplified with my diagnoses, so I knew that I had to do something. I think I was really scared to admit that I am on medication at first, wondering what people would think. What I realized is it doesn’t matter at all what anyone else thinks. You have to do what’s best for you and look after yourself. You are your number one priority. If you don’t put yourself first, who will? You also have to fight for yourself. It’s so important and your body will thank you for it.

Mental health resources

There are more mental health resources that may be helpful to you or a loved one available under the Mental Health section of our menu.