Not just about diabetes and hypothyroidism.

A seven-year-old afraid of missing her bus acts out at the end of a school day.

A fifteen-year-old afraid of not being accepted by the other female students spends lunch period after lunch period hiding in a bathroom stall after quickly eating her small meals consisting of a few bites of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, milk, and a single Ho-Ho.

A twenty-year-old fails a college course in social work after refusing to complete an interview with a local social worker because dealing with authority figures is too frightening.

That girl and those young women were me. Are me.

Yes, I struggle with anxiety surrounding time constraints, personal relationships with other females, and professional relationships, for many reasons that I cannot share here. Sometimes, this anxiety has progressed into depression, particularly at two times of any given year – the beginning and ending of Daylight Savings Time (DST). My body always wants DST to start a couple weeks before it actually does and creates havoc with my mood as a result. Same goes for wanting DST to last a couple more weeks after it actually ends.

Yes, I am in that situation yet again this spring, feeling depressed. This is not the worst I have seen, but in the best years, I am able to keep that old familiar friend from entering the mind.

I have been treated on and off with therapy and/or medication for both the anxiety and depression since the first signs of anxiety in first grade, so I have the knowledge of what can help me. Putting it into use is another matter, but with some coaxing, I always find my way out of the funk. I will be okay before too long.