By Diana Meneses
This month, I’ve been reflecting on how much my mental health journey has shaped my relationships — with friends, family, romantic partners, and most importantly, myself.
For a long time, I didn’t realize how my anxious attachment style was quietly influencing the way I connected with people.
I’d catch myself overthinking conversations, replaying moments, and worrying if I’d said or done something “wrong.” It wasn’t until I started letting go and just being myself that I noticed something amazing, I could actually breathe in my relationships.
I could flourish instead of forcing connections.
What pushed me to start healing
The shift didn’t happen overnight. It started with small realizations that built up over time:
- I wanted to change my mentality.
- I wanted freedom from the constant loop of anxiety and depression.
- I noticed my negative thoughts were attracting more negativity into my life.
- My health took a hit. I ended up in the hospital from the stress and anxiety.
- I was stuck in a 7-year relationship that had run its course and no longer served me.
Sometimes, life has a way of holding up a mirror so you can’t ignore what’s staring back. That was my wake-up call.
Learning to ride the waves of anxiety and depression
I started making small but powerful changes:
- Picking up new hobbies – embroidery, painting, music, and baking.
- Giving myself permission to take space.
- Letting my emotions move through me instead of bottling them up.
- Learning to say no, and letting go of the guilt that I attached to it.
I began picturing my negative thoughts as leaves floating down a river, acknowledging them, but letting them drift away instead of holding onto them.
And yes, part of my healing meant looking at my attachment style. Understanding that about myself was like finding a missing puzzle piece.
Suddenly my patterns made sense.
Deciding to start medication
Deciding to start an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) was one of the hardest but most important steps in my journey.
There’s such a stigma around medication, and I used to believe taking an SSRI meant something was “wrong” with me. But depression isn’t a character flaw, it’s a chemical imbalance. For some people, lifestyle changes like exercise, healthy eating, and joyful activities can help. For me, they weren’t enough.
I had tried everything I could think of, but still felt stuck. Once I began taking SSRI’s, I slowly felt my energy coming back. My days didn’t feel so heavy. I could finally take things one step at a time and that felt like hope.
This month is about becoming a “new” me, it’s been about coming home to myself.
I’ve learned that self-improvement isn’t always loud or dramatic; sometimes it’s in the quiet choices we make every day to protect our peace, choose our health, and believe we’re worthy of a life that feels good.
If you’re on your own healing journey, I want you to remember this: it’s okay to start small, it’s okay to ask for help, and it’s okay if your progress doesn’t look like anyone else’s.
Whether your path involves therapy, medication, lifestyle changes, or simply giving yourself more grace, it’s still growth.
Healing is not linear, but it is possible. And if I have learned anything, it’s that we are all capable of rewriting our story, one step, one choice, one September at a time.
Are you ready to take that first step too?
QUOTE FOR THE WEEK
Sometimes you have to be your own hero.” Author Unknown
