Mental Health Awareness
Donation protected
Most of you know me as Ariana or just a Twitch streamer. But some of you may not know that I am also a huge mental health advocate. This may be news to everyone but I have struggled with severe anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and crippling depression since I was a kid. I’ve kept this quietly to myself for years because all I want to do is make others happy, especially through my new found love of streaming.
However, this past week has been the hardest week of my life and has changed my perspective forever. I no longer want to be silent about my past. I have been on/off antidepressants for 6 years, but during this time I had been off of my antidepressants for 3 months. We had just spent the weekend in San Diego for my best friends wedding and everything went great. We all went to breakfast together the day after. This is when I started feeling “off.”
I’ve experienced panic attack’s in the past plenty of times, but not like this. This feeling lasted for hours and I had convinced myself that I was going to die. The uncontrollable panic attack’s lasted on and off for an entire week totaling over 100. Being trapped inside my head for hours a time made me realize the value of life. I’ve decided to be transparent about this particular situation instead of just “taking a break” and hiding it from social media like most typically would. Suicide rates are on the rise and mental health needs to be discussed more than ever. Nearly 2 hospital trips and a week later, the panic attack’s are under control. This horrifying experience has inspired me to share this with others who felt alone and give back to those in need.
Streaming is currently my full time job and my only source of income. However, I am in the process of moving, fixing my PC, and unable to stream to raise money. All the proceedings would go towards a charitable donation to the Mental Health Association. If it’s not yourself, everybody has known at least one person who has struggled with a mental disorder.
However, this past week has been the hardest week of my life and has changed my perspective forever. I no longer want to be silent about my past. I have been on/off antidepressants for 6 years, but during this time I had been off of my antidepressants for 3 months. We had just spent the weekend in San Diego for my best friends wedding and everything went great. We all went to breakfast together the day after. This is when I started feeling “off.”
I’ve experienced panic attack’s in the past plenty of times, but not like this. This feeling lasted for hours and I had convinced myself that I was going to die. The uncontrollable panic attack’s lasted on and off for an entire week totaling over 100. Being trapped inside my head for hours a time made me realize the value of life. I’ve decided to be transparent about this particular situation instead of just “taking a break” and hiding it from social media like most typically would. Suicide rates are on the rise and mental health needs to be discussed more than ever. Nearly 2 hospital trips and a week later, the panic attack’s are under control. This horrifying experience has inspired me to share this with others who felt alone and give back to those in need.
Streaming is currently my full time job and my only source of income. However, I am in the process of moving, fixing my PC, and unable to stream to raise money. All the proceedings would go towards a charitable donation to the Mental Health Association. If it’s not yourself, everybody has known at least one person who has struggled with a mental disorder.
Organizer
Ariana Gamboa
Organizer
Temecula, CA