For years, I found it hard to get an outlet for my stress and depression. Music helped sometimes, and so did running or singing random lyrics. Even dancing alone in my room to the back-beat of one of my favorite songs would help tire me out enough to make me feel like I was breaking even with my problems rather than them dominating me. When my anxiety finally surfaced as well, those outlets started working less and less. That helped my anxiety build and my depression sent me into a downward spiral that I wasn't sure I could come out of.

When I Found A New Answer...

My first year of high school, I found a forum site where people took turns writing on stories. I didn't quite understand it, but just reading some of the tales enthralled me and I wanted to know more. I signed up that day and later that night found a story that was still accepting members. They'd just lost one of their writers and needed another person to take over. This is when I first started what is commonly called role-playing. I write out my part of the story with my characters, and another person responds.

I've made many friends through my role-playing, but what I found was that my stress and anxiety, even my depression, was coming out in the characters I designed bit by bit. I started to realize that they were just as much a part of who I was than just something I created off the top of my head. They described a different part of me, bore different mental scars as physical ones, and dealt with them just as I did. My characters became known as survivors; that's what I became known as too.

What I Do Now

Writing became a big part of my life, but role-playing has never left my side. Whenever I need to handle a problem now, be it a class or a situation at home, role-playing the outlet I fall to first and foremost. Sometimes I take those characters I create and put them in stories, making them a part of a story that needed someone like them to keep the main character stable. A supporter where there hadn't been one before.

Finding Your Safe Place

Why am I telling you about this? Why am I writing about how role-playing helped me out of my roughest point in life? Because I want you to know that sometimes one or two, even three outlets aren't enough. The point of dealing with your anxiety, depression, stress, or anything of the sort is to find something that helps you sort through them. Once you do that, then you can do just about anything. You're strong and you're able.

Writing might not be your answer, but that doesn't mean something else isn't. Keep looking until you find the thing that helps you break-even; then keep working until you find something that helps you conquer you're problem. It won't be overnight, but it won't be forever until you get the answer you need.