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Throughout a person’s life they face multiple events that are potentially life changing. These changes can be stressful and difficult to come to terms with. It can be something small or more significant, for example a relationship breakup, a birth, death or being diagnosed with a chronic illness or disability. Change can be extremely difficult to process. A person might begin to feel sad about what’s happening, they might feel hopelessness, loose interest in anything they normally love doing, as well as crying unexpectedly. This inability to cope with change is called Adjustment Disorder (AD). Today as part of Mental Health Awareness Week, Tylia is going to share her story of how she overcame on Adjustment Disorder
When It All Began
It all started last March I was looking out the window while driving to a regular doctor’s appointment. It was a gloomy morning. I looked at the road and saw all the cows and farms on the country road that led me to the Doctors Office.
I turned to my mom and told her I had been feeling more sad than usual and that I needed to talk to the doctor about it. My mom lowered the volume of the radio. She looked worried, like any mother would. She said it probably causes we just moved to Clermont not that long ago and I don’t know anybody here
Little did she know it was more than that. It was the fact that I was feeling trapped in my body more than usual due to my condition. Cerebral Palsy affects my mobility and my ability to get around. I’m constantly confined to a wheelchair twenty-four hours a day although I’m very sociable and I go out with friends and I’m a college student I tend to always feel like I’m a glitch in video game still trying to find my way. Luckily, I found my passion for writing at a young age, after the death of my friend. But all the sudden the one thing I loved the most since I was a teenager didn’t help me during this time. Although on the outside I seemed to have it all, on the inside I was secretly breaking down each day. Getting angry at my situation and how things weren’t working out in my life at the age of twenty-two.
Seeking Professional Help
I told my doctor about how I was feeling, and she referred me to a mental health doctor. In the meantime, me she prescribed Fluoxetine to help with my anxiety and depression. I Needed to take it every single day, cutting the pill in half and placing it in my orange juice every morning.
At first, when taking Fluoxetine, it helped focus a lot and my emotional state. I was doing okay but after a while, I would become hungry and would want to eat junk food every few minutes while being focus on what I was doing but after a while I started to have the mindset that I needed to take the pills to be happy. I felt like I no longer had control of my life. As someone who is an inspiration to many people, I couldn’t lift myself to see a happy light in my life again.
A few months passed and I finally got to see a therapist. I was very open about feeling trapped in my body and the difficulty of being an adult with Cerebral Palsy. At the end the therapist said, “based on everything you told me I’m going to diagnose you with anxiety and Depression, Adjustment disorder.”
At first, I was crushed. How could someone like me, who has everything going for her, have a disorder like AD at the age of twenty-two? I spent the next couple weeks angry at the world. The Fluoxetine was taking a toll on my body. I started to get pimples all over my body. I was facing this major challenge in my life my now ex-boyfriend walked out on me. That caused me to get more depressed to the point where I stopped eating, writing, and going to school. I basically stopped my life.
The Turning Point For My Adjustment Disorder
Until I woke up one day, with the support of my family and my friends. I told myself I wasn’t going to let AD to take over my life anymore. I wasn’t going to take Fluoxetine anymore either.
As of September 8th, 2018, I haven’t taken a single pill and I’m much happier. I’m now an advocate for mental health and I started to write again. I completed my second novel and I’m continuing my studies.
My message to anyone struggling with mental health is you gotta keep on stomping regardless of the darkness you see they’re always a light.
About The Author
Tylia Flores is a 24-year-old born with cerebral palsy. Although her condition has affected her mobility, it has never affected her will and determination to make a difference in the world. Through her many life challenges and obstacles, she discovered her passion for writing. Tylia’s goal in life is to share her stories with the world.
