I feel like my depression is caused by burnout from stress and anxiety. I end up spending so much time and mental energy worrying about things that eventually I just get exhausted and I feel like I have to stop caring. I also struggle with perfectionism and being a “control freak”. I’m still figuring out how to cope with my stress and anxiety in healthy and effective ways because I feel like a have a really low tolerance threshold for stress, like the littlest things drive me crazy when they don’t for other people.
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Hey there @whitneymeagan1,
It seems that you really nailed some valid reasons that would have brought you to this depression. Anxiety and stress, being constantly worried and aiming for perfection is absolutely exhausting. Emotional burnout due to these conditions can absolutely be a part of what has caused your depression. At least, there is a logical chain of reactions there and it seems that you understand it very well. For lots of people it really take a long time to get to the root causes of the “why” reasons behind mental health struggles. So being honest with yourself and facing the things/habits/behaviors that might be hurtful to you is really strong. Well done for this, really. Being a very anxious bean myself, and struggling with a depression, I get how messy this pile of stress can seem at first. Just how hard it is to find some clarity and logic through it.
As for learning to cope with your anxiety, have you considered being helped for that eventually, by a professional? It can be tough to learn new habits and ways to handle our anxiety only by ourselves, especially when we are burnt out and low on energy.
All in all, you’re making some major steps by identifying reasons behind your struggles. This understanding is going to help you in many ways and of course in your own healing. 
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From: twixremix (Discord)
hi whitney! first off, welcome to the heartsupport community. i’m really glad you’re here, thank you for your vulnerability in sharing what you’re going through. i’ve been in your shoes many times before, my friend. with everything you described, it’s as if your brain has a clever defense mechanism to shut down and shut off any outside force that causes you stress or to use unnecessary energy. while i wish i could help take some of the stress and anxiety burdens off your shoulders, i can offer some support in how i personally cope with stress and anxiety. i give myself time and forgiveness to fully shut down during burnout/depressions. then, after i’ve regained enough mental energy, i ease myself back into routine by tackling things one step at a time. usually chores, work responsibilities/tasks, and personal things stack up so high that i, too, stop caring which isn’t productive. so allowing that time to recover then come out swinging afterwards is what works for me… and i hope this process can help you even in the slightest. please go easy on yourself, my friend, and i look forward to hearing from you soon. i believe in you to conquer this and discover the best way for you to personally cope with stress and anxiety in a healthy way! love, twix
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From: Lisalovesfeathers (Discord)
Hi Friend, Welcome to Heart Support, Thank you so much for posting here and sharing your thoughts. My name is Lisa and its good to meet you. Stress and anxiety is absolutely exhausting there is no doubt about that at all and it is a massive struggle for everyone in life although of course some people do appear to manage it better than others. I am like you, I allow the smallest of things to drive me mad, however sometimes the huge things don’t seem to bother me, its so strange how we all react to different things in different ways and there are no right or wrong ways of doing so. I think the most important lesson to learn is the perfectionism one, no one is perfect so striving for that is a waste of your time and energy and another stress you do not need. Once you have accepted that you are never going to reach perfection and no longer strive for it maybe you will be able to relax a little more, give yourself a little grace and start being a bit kinder to yourself and then you may find you start to relax a bit more. I do hope so. You really do deserve that. Keep in touch and let us know how you are getting on. Much Love Lisa. x
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Hiya @whitneymeagan1 its Creative Encouragement week and as its your first time here I thought I would do a little pic for you to send a little bit of love your way. Hope it makes you smile. Take care. xxx
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