When I came back home for the holidays, my parents and other community members embraced me, but were hesitant to say much about my illnesses. Suddenly, everyone became notably cautious around me, even though all I had done was speak up about something I had felt for years. Consequently, the next semester I found myself constantly worrying about my performance and how “happy” I was acting. I was terrified of living up to the stereotype that mentally ill people are crazy and incapable of living a normal life. I pushed myself far beyond my limits to prove myself as capable, and, accordingly, I ended up breaking under the pressure.…
I never thought I’d make it here. In order for you to understand what I’m trying to say, I have to go back into the past and tell you about my battles. It’s not an easy story to share, but it taught me one of the greatest lessons. Mental illness runs in my family, so I was raised in a home where it was often talked about.…
February started with a caucus of my own: my car broke down and I got sick all at the same time. I won't be able to go to class today. I've already texted and emailed my students. I've also send assignments to cover. I am sorry for this last minute call as I honestly thought I was going to be able to make…
X was a bright, ambitious and energetic person, and he was loved by everyone alike. After years of hard work, he’d gotten into law school and was finally living his dream he had struggled so long for. He was also my best friend. When I came back home from college that year, I was met with somber and anxious faces rather than smiles and hugs. Blankly, I looked at my father’s face when he broke the shocking news that X had passed away from a drug overdose.…
Mayfield High School sophomore Emily Claire Byrne suffered an unrecognized mood disorder for 9 whole years. Today, Byrne has overcome her struggle for almost 4 years now. This tragedy all started at the age of 3 when Byrne and her mom Maggie Byrne were about to go on their vacation to the Bahamas. On their way there,Maggie noticed something was wrong.…
Do you know what you will be doing five years down the road? For me, it is hard to imagine myself as a therapist though I do share an interest in helping people. The reality is, you can plan for many things but you never can fully predict where life will take you. As a therapist I can identify some potential strengths and weaknesses that I bring to the field.…
We were on our way to school. I never notice before. I knew she was sad, I knew she was becoming a different person. It just didn’t click in my head and maybe it was because I was younger or I was just caught up in my own world. It finally came out; Rachel and I had miss the bus so my mom reacted like any other parent would.…
I want my kids to be able to say, " My daddy's a doctor. " I want them to see and truly believe they can accomplish anything they set their minds on. I want to be able to show them that hard work and steadfastness can make dreams a reality. Ever since I can remember I've wanted to be a psychiatrist. Life is hard, and If I can even slightly ease that burden, and aid individuals who suffer from any kind of mental issue, I will have reached my personal Nirvana.…
I look back at my younger siblings, Maria and Juana, who are twins, their relentless pleas for food aimed at my mother vexing me greatly. My mother has drove for hours, not stopping to allow us to relieve ourselves or obtain food. I harshly silence them, understanding that they are only fortifying the stress on her to drive to the United States Border quicker. Glancing at her, the composed face, she constantly places on during trying situations only belied by the incessant tapping of her foot on the bottom of the car and the furrowing of her brows. Slanting my back to watch the scenery from the window, my mind wandering back to our home in Mexico.…
My deep-seated belief that mind, body, and environment are interconnected, and my commitment to helping others improve their overall (not just physical or mental) wellness, as well as hopefully preventing illness in many cases, are my main motivations for wanting to be in the health field. From my childhood, I watched various family members struggle with food and substance addictions as a means of coping with life stressors, and I also observed their health deteriorate from the damage they were doing to themselves by not managing stress and anxiety properly. I hope to increase my knowledge throughout my graduate studies such that I can implement what I have learned to help individuals that otherwise might not understand how they can prevent many illnesses through behavior modification. That being said, one of the classes that had a…
Since then, with counseling and medication, I have flourished. My grades improved enough that I was able to get into a public ivy league. Next year I will begin college on a premed track, with the hopes of eventually becoming a doctor, a feat that once seemed impossible. I now tutor younger students, participate on an art team, coach middle school volleyball, and work as a CNA. Throughout these things I can help others, which is incredibly rewarding to me.…
My First Shot The air was empty but the pond was full. We sneak through the trees to get to the pond. We get there to realize that the gamble we took didn't pay off. Since we got there about thirty minutes before shoot time we waited. That was the slowest 30 minutes ever.…
When I began working with people from various population with mental disabilities, I was unsure of my abilities to provide or render care to any of these individuals. After engaging and working with various individuals at several mental health facilities, I have learned that each individual is different and unique in their own way. Although, there has been situations that were difficult for me and I often had to seek out other professionals on handling working with certain individuals. I have found it trying to work with the adolescence between the ages of thirteen-seventeen with a diagnosis of Bipolar disorder.…
The hardships I encountered a couple of years ago had to do with my mother’s failing mental health. She and my stepfather started arguing more frequently in my freshman year of high school. In the middle of my summer vacation, she had kicked him out of the house and that’s when she had a nervous breakdown. The beginning of my sophomore year, the house I was living in was about to be foreclosed. My mother was still shut in and I was taking care of my siblings and doing housework.…
I didn’t have a bad life, so I didn’t understand why I felt this way. I couldn’t tell anyone because I was too ashamed and I didn’t want to be known as the girl who seeks attention. It was like living in hazy thunderstorm; living in a storm in which I couldn’t shake. Things got worse. My depression seemed to have gone from mild to severe in what seemed like seconds.…