Coping With Depression and Anxiety: Tara’s Story of Panic Attacks and Survival

For Tara, depression and anxiety began in childhood — with panic attacks at just four years old following a traumatic accident. Decades later, as a mother, she still carried the weight of exhaustion, shame, and guilt, believing she wasn’t living up to expectations.

In this episode, Tara shares her deeply personal story of surviving depression, panic attacks, and stigma, and how she’s slowly learning to ask for help, accept support, and redefine what “normal” means.

Her honesty is a powerful reminder that coping with depression and anxiety is not weakness — it’s strength. Whether it’s medication, therapy, or simply choosing to keep going each day, Tara’s journey shows that recovery is not about perfection, but persistence.

Primary Topics Covered:

• Childhood trauma and the onset of panic attacks
• The link between anxiety and depression across her life
• Struggles with college, work, and stigma around mental illness
• Parenting with depression and explaining it to children
• The importance of therapy and medication in her recovery
• The pressure of the “supermom” ideal and letting it go
• Redefining normal: small victories like cooking or getting dressed
• Why asking for help is not weakness but resilience

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction and opening reflections
 01:22 - Why it’s hard to talk about depression and anxiety
 01:42 - Guilt and shame as a mother living with depression
 02:23 - The importance of asking for help
 05:02 - Tara’s first panic attacks at age four
 05:55 - Traumatic accident and early PTSD symptoms
 07:02 - Discovering the term “panic attacks” at 14
 08:04 - Relief in finally having words for her symptoms
 08:56 - Depression intensifies during college years
 09:39 - Loss of loved ones and impact on her mental health
 10:12 - Struggles balancing full-time work with depression
 11:33 - Parenting with depression and talking to her kids
 12:55 - Medication, therapy, and redefining “normal”
 14:17 - Choosing every day to keep going as resilience
 15:16 - Closing reflections on asking for help and telling your truth

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