Dear Prudence,
I’m turning 16 this May, and I’ve had health problems since I was very young. I constantly missed school because I didn’t feel well, and that was a problem for a very long time. My parents spent a lot of time, effort, and money trying to help me and get me diagnosed with something. I’m talking an MRI scan, a colonoscopy, an endoscopy, etc. … Thankfully, my family is in a good financial situation, so it wasn’t like we were struggling or anything. Recently, as in the last year or so, I started seeing a therapist and got diagnosed with severe anxiety, depression, and a panic disorder, all that I’ve likely had my whole life. I was put on Prozac recently, and after a brief adjustment period, I’ve felt amazing. I still occasionally suffer from fatigue and a sort of weak immune system, but it’s not as bad as it used to be. I’ve been able to get more sleep at night, I’m able to make it through the day without crashing, and I experience less joint and muscle pain. In short, my physical problems were in large part due to my mental problems affecting my whole body.
I feel super guilty about my parents doing so many things for me to try and figure out something wrong physically when the actual solution was so simple all along. I know that they love and support me no matter what, and are just happy to actually be able to help me, but I still can’t help feeling bad for, well, feeling bad. Like I let my mental state affect me in this way. Am I right in feeling bad? If not, how do I stop?
— Guilty Nevertheless