According to the ADAA (Anxiety and Depression Association of America), one in eight children are diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Unfortunately, I was that one.
When I was 13, I was diagnosed with a mild to severe anxiety disorder. When I found out, I was well aware, but to know that it was really diagnosed this time terrified me. I was told to either cope with it or find ways to bring the level I was at down by a major amount so, naturally, I Googled it. Every option I read didn't interest me in the slightest. I had done therapy multiple times in my lifetime at the time to know that it wasn't much help, and medication didn't really sound appealing to me and the thought of taking it to calm myself down made me more anxious than beforehand.
At this point, I had no idea what to do. I was desperate for anything. I had reached the lowest of low points, and I was only thirteen years old. I lost a ton of friends due to silly arguments, and I was alone. I lost all hope for myself. I did not see the point in living at all.
After every occurrence and argument that happened, I took a trip to the mall to try and have a good time with no problems. I came across a candle in one of the stores, smelled it, and immediately it felt like a rush of happiness and serenity had entered my body and I had to buy it. I hurried home, set the candle on my bedside table, and lit it right away. I impatiently inhaled the wonderful smell of vanilla and felt the familiar feeling flow through my body. I had found my cure. My way of coping. I was happy and felt stress free.
That first small candle turned into two, and two turned to four, and four turned to sixteen or twenty, but they have all changed my life for the better. I have gained new friends as well as a few old, and I am happy. The majority of people tell me it's an "obsession," but to me it's help, and I am the happiest I have ever been in this very moment.
