Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness affecting roughly 40 million Americans according to the anxiety and depression association of America. In the past, we at Now Entertainment have created campaigns and donated to societies for suicide prevention among others, so we reached out to speak with rapper and entrepreneur Christian Vind about his mental health journey.
Can you explain to us what it’s like to live with anxiety?
Explaining anxiety to people can be very difficult at times especially when some don’t take the time to understand what it is. Some think it’s like an on and off switch, that somehow we can control it. For an example, I could be very happy, having the greatest time of my life, and out of nowhere I will get this numb feeling in my face, and or body, I get shaky, the chills, can’t seem to fully gather my thoughts, and what’s even more scary is when I feel like I might die.
When I would go to the doctor before, I was told, “it’s just anxiety” and it made it seem like I was just overreacting and that I should get on some medications. Speaking of medications, some may help, but for me, I have had nothing but bad experiences from it to where I would feel even worse and it would seem to cause other health issues. There is nothing wrong with seeking help and taking the right prescribed meds to better your health, but for me, I was scared that it could get worse if I would have kept taking what the doctors kept giving me.
What have you done about it?
All I felt like I could do was to keep pushing through it, taking it day by day, praying, changing my eating habits, and setting up a better sleep schedule. The best decision I have made for my health is by going to a Neurological Chiropractor. He has taught me the key principles on how to live a better healthier lifestyle, and I must say I feel better than I did a year ago.
Before, I had double vision, which created more anxiety because I have had it for years. Doctors would ask me “are you on drugs?” And the honest answer to their question was no, I don’t do drugs. I was having a lot of unexplainable anxiety attacks, I just didn’t know what was causing it to be so continuous. I felt like people thought I was crazy. Long story short, after having an X-ray performed, I was told that I had gaps in some parts of my spine and two vertebras fused together in my neck which was causing the double vision.
What were your thoughts after treatment?
YAY! I can say to people that I am officially not crazy, even though most think I just force myself to see or feel what I see and feel. But the bad news was that I knew it was going to be a process for me, mentally, physically, and financially.
I’ve been going to the doctor for over a year now. I don’t see as much double vision like I used to, and anxiety attacks don’t happen as much either but it does still occurs from time to time. As a music artist and Co-Founder of Bcause You Can LLC, I would like to talk about mental health more often to create awareness that we are not alone and that seeking help doesn’t mean weakness it means strength.
A version of this article originally appeared on Now Entertainment News. Syndicated with permission.— Published on October 28, 2019.