So I'm overweight/obese. Whatever, I got a little extra as most Americans do. My BC made me gain about 30-40 pounds. I kid you not, I didn't change my eating habits when I got on it and was only on it for about a year. In May &amp; June I got hit with the worst anxiety I've ever had in my life. Ultimately had to quit my job in July since my employer decided hybrid work was inadequate and was dragging everyone back to the office this August. I'm fortunate enough that my husband, has a stable enough job and can cover the bills - just barely except for my car payment. We have savings though so I have at least 6ish more months to find a job or I'm up creek without a paddle. I took this current school term off as well to focus on my mental health (covered by scholarships and attending UoPeople so already cheap). Had about 4 ish therapy sessions while my insurance was still active. 

Anywho, I'm now over a month jobless and I thought the anxiety would increase. I've applied to over 200 jobs and only received 2 offers I couldn't even accept because of the ridiculous training schedule. My anxiety has actually decreased and I attribute it to 3 factors:
• I'm off my hormonal BC (SubQ 104 Depo-Provera), my weight has now steadied (husband's getting a vasectomy and BC has severely decreased my libido [some lingering effects since Depo doesn't instantly just leave the system after stopping] to the point we've been abstinent anyway)
• the impending doom of having to drive 30 -45 minutes one way to work every day is gone (I've had worse commutes but this drive is through a college town with college kids who are driving vehicles there's no way they bought themselves and therefore don't care)
• I started excercising more regularly. I'm doing minimum 3-5 days a week. 20-30 min cardio (mostly dance workouts - love EMKfit on YouTube HIIT workouts and just dance) followed by 10-20 min cool downs and stretching. 

I haven't had any panic attacks and haven't really had anxiety so bad I felt sick to my stomach in about a month and a half. After driving, my BP is slightly elevated but not as crazy as it was and on more than one occasion these past few weeks it's been normal. It's a little early to see if anything is actually definitive, but I'm ready to start class again and ready to be working remotely. I can't continue therapy since even on my husband's health insurance it's a ridiculous BS'd amount of money (thanks US). Every weekend, I'm actually wanting to potentially do something out of the house vs absolutely dreading it every time. Obviously, my situation isn't a one size fits all because my anxiety was heavily influenced by multiple things and I've been able to do things some people can't. This isn't to brag, this is just to share my experience in case anyone is struggling with something similar. Maybe other AFABs reading this may want to examine their current BC method, maybe try incorporating excercise somewhere as EMKFIT has short videos, or maybe consider a career change, etc.