I've been struggling with it since I was a young child--but didn't know it back then. The JW thing just made it worse, I felt constantly under a black cloud that any minute God's judgement was coming and I may or may not be good enough for Jehovah. I have a lot of mental illness that runs in my family, unfortunately, so I was already predisposed. I try to take really good care of myself, and when I feel overwhelmed--I avoid situations that make me feel depressed, like visiting my dad who is a very negative person and still lives in the yucky house I grew up in with a mentally ill mother.
I am on Prozac which has greatly relieved my constant feelings of having a nervous breakdown or panicky feeling that something bad was happening to me. And I try to take walks every day and enjoy nature, and eat healthy. But I am addicted to sugar and I struggle with that daily; it makes me feel worse when I OD on sugar and chocolate.
Being a mother, I constantly worry about my kids' emotional/mental well-being. My 18 year old daughter became more and more withdrawn last year but now she's on Prozac and feels so much better and in control of her life. My son spent 2 years on Prozac when he was 8 years old--he was talking about dying and running away; he is doing really well nowadays without any meds. I am very thankful we have modern medicine and medication that helps mental & emotional illness.