Mental health stories are a critical ingredient to reducing stigma and getting needed resources into the hands of teens and families everywhere. One individual we’re super excited about who is doing great work in this space is Marie @ Mxiety.com! Join us for this exclusive AiT interview!
AiT: Tell us a little bit about your personal journey with mental health?
It’s complicated, as I know it is for many, but here are the cliff notes.
My childhood was not happy, there were several traumatic events and major moves which made it rather tumultuous, in fact. Midway through high school, when I realized I may have an eating disorder, I chose to seek help from the in-school psychologist. Unfortunately, that was my first encounter with the realization that there was not enough attention given to mental health in schools. I grew up in a pretty affluent town, with New Jersey high taxes, but we still had only one psychologist. Of course, she didn’t have enough time to give all of the students who needed help appointments, in addition to her other duties. It took another four years, and moving away to college, for me to really start therapy. The care was free, and I was far away from my parents, so I was sure it would be anonymous, which is what pushed me to finally go regularly. I was even comfortable taking medication when my condition didn’t improve from talk therapy alone. That’s more-or-less what I have been doing since—when I feel better, I reduce the number of appointments. If I start feeling unwell, I pick things back up. Next year will mark ten years since my life started to improve.
AiT: You’ve been a very outspoken advocate of mental health and wellness, why is it important for us to share our stories?
Almost everyone has an outlandish story they’ve lived through, happy or upsetting, telling those stories is what helps create stronger bonds among friends and feel connected to each other. Mental illnesses such as depression, can led someone to believe that they are ‘broken’, ‘less than’, the ‘odd one out’. Our human connections, knowing that there is someone out there who understands and felt what you have might make someone reach out and get the help they need instead of suffering and trying to push through harder. That was a powerful motivator for me to start sharing myself, the realization that I would have been unlikely to search for help if someone didn’t share how much reaching out helped them.
AiT: What is Mxiety and how do you hope to see it evolve and grow?
Mxiety is a site dedicated to providing reliable and relatable mental health information and resources through videos, interviews and writing. I want to continue expanding the variety of mental illnesses I have resources listed for, so that there is a reliable well-curated list anyone can reference depending on their mental health need. The blog will continue to include biographical and opinion pieces based on logical evidence, and I wish to eventually obtain contributors. In the long run, I wish to make it a one-stop mental health education website. I want to expand upon the video format as well, to have more hosts and more professionals join us.
AiT: Where can people tune it to the Mxiety show?
I have three shows a week on Twitch, which is a phenomenal platform to present this sort of topic. The platform focuses on creating communities and long-term friendships. I can explain tough concepts and moderate the discussion among the audience in chat and myself. I play video games and lead two shows a week around a mental health topic with guests and well-researched information.
Campfire.care is a platform where you can join specific support groups based on your interest, mental health and other stigmatized problems. On Fireside Chats, we discuss mental health topics with specialists in the field.
The schedule for Twitch is Tues, Thurs and Sun, check the website for times.
Fore Campfire.care the FB live events are every Tuesday, with subject posted a week in advance.
AiT: Anything else you’d like our teen and parent audiences to know?
To teens, it gets easier. The older you get the clearer things become and easier it is to understand and manage the symptoms. Don’t give up. And if you don’t find help at the first door you knock on, keep looking until you find the right door. Be careful about what you do if you become desperate for help. Logic and rational conversation is not always easy, but very important for this often confusing subject. Do your research, always use good information to convey yourself correctly.
Parents, trust your children. Things might not always be clear, they often are not to those experiencing them either. Do not force your teen into a situation where they seek help in a way that is harmful to them. If you have a hard time understanding your teen, keep trying and continue to validate their needs. That pays off much better than continuously pushing or assuming your teen is doing something “for attention” or out of malice.
About Marie: Marie holds a degree in History and has a background in Project Management. Focusing on research and finding reliable information, she is working to expand the conversation about mental health in an informed, constructive way. Her biographical and opinion pieces have been published on Medium, SurvivalisaTalent.com and her weekly blog at www.mxiety.com, where she also curates trusted sources for mental health help. She hosts live discussions on Fireside Chat of Campfire.care and the Mxiety Twitch channel. Otherwise she’s just a regular person: wife, corgi mom, tea lover—who happens to be living with mental illness.