Daniel Marino

Brace yourself because crap is about to get real.

Anxiety, Depression, and Panic Attacks are All Real Things…

I suffer from general anxiety and depression.

• More anxiety than depression, but they often go hand in hand and share many symptoms.
• Sometimes I get full blown panic attacks.
• This all got real for me six or seven years ago.

What is General Anxiety?

• In a nutshell, it’s a chemical imbalance in the brain.
• Our bodies naturally release adrenaline when we’re in fight or flight situations—such as running from a bear.
• When our bodies release adrenaline in this way in normal every day life this causes one to feel anxiety.
• It becomes a bigger problem when you have triggers that cause anxiety. For me, traveling is one of my biggest triggers.

What does Anxiety or a Panic Attack feel like?

• Aside from the physical effects, it feels like an impending sense of doom looming over me. If that sounds corny let me assure you—it isn’t.
• Panic Attacks are the absolute worse. A lot of people end up going to the ER when experiencing their first one.
• For those that might say “push past it” (and I used to be one of those) it’s not that simple. Even if/when you can rationalize anxiety, you can’t just stop the effects of it.

I decided to get help.

• Two years ago I backed out of Summit because my anxiety was so severe and couldn’t handle it anymore.
• I was ashamed to admit that I needed help. I called a therapist that week. Looking back, I should have done this sooner as it had been affecting my family for several years.
• I’m still learning to cope with anxiety. I see a therapist, a naturopathic doctor, take meds, and try to exercise my faith.

So where am I now?

• I don’t know if I’ll suffer from anxiety or need meds for the rest of my life, but if I do I’ve more or less made peace with that.
• While it’s a struggle and is something I think about a lot, I try not to let it define who I am.

Way to be a bummer, Dan…

• There’s a lot of people with mental heath challenges and are embarrassed to admit it or do something about it.
• There’s a stigma attached to mental health for various reasons. Some people simply don’t understand mental health challenges.
• It’s not much different then seeking medical attention for a broken bone or taking Tylenol when you have a headache.

Closing thoughts

• Thank you to my wife and kids who have been my rock and supports me through all of this. Also, thanks Zach Holman, Andrea, and Calina for inspiring me to give this talk.
• I just wanted to share a little bit of my experience with anxiety to raise a little more awareness of mental health issues.
• If you experience anxiety or mental health issues and don’t know who to talk to—talk to me.

Thanks