Mariah Davis: Miss Oklahoma USA's Depression and Anxiety

You’re listening to the Mental Health Download from the nonprofit Mental Health Association Oklahoma.

• On today’s special episode, our guest is Miss Oklahoma USA 2020, Mariah Davis.
  
• And what you’ll hear is audio from our recent Facebook Live Q&A with Mariah.
  
• You’ll hear Mariah share her experiences with depression and anxiety. She’ll also offer advice on how you or someone you love can overcome their darkest moments with depression and anxiety.
  
• QUESTIONS INCLUDE:

1. So let’s start with you telling the audience a little about yourself and why you wanted to become Miss Oklahoma USA 2020.
   
2. OK, now let’s go back to your high school days. Can you share what it was like in high school when you first realized you were experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety?
   
3. At that time, were you afraid your friends and maybe even your family would find out you were experiencing depression and anxiety?
   
4. When you were a freshman at the University of Oklahoma, how did your depression and anxiety symptoms stay the same or change?
   
5. You’ve said that during that time in college, you were struggling to find your identity and that you felt like a prisoner in your own mind. Can you tell us more about what that inner battle was like for you?
   
6. How did you cope with your depression and anxiety at that time?
   
7. As you’ve said, you felt like you were losing your fight with depression and anxiety. And, actually, you were having thoughts of suicide, correct? Can you explain what it was like to reach such a dark place in your life?
   
8. What or who inspired you to fight against those thoughts and come out the other side transformed?
   
9. How did that time in your life affect your friends and family?
   
10. How did your friends and family help you in your recovery from depression and anxiety?
    
11. You’ve said “you have to put in the work to change,” what did that work entail for you?
    
12. Now that you have come so far in your recovery, what advice do you have for people who feel alone as they struggle with depression and anxiety?
    
13. What are some of the ways you continue to maintain and improve your own mental health?