"My mental illness is anxiety. I have always felt very frustrated with it because it’s one of the ones people through around in everyday conversation when they simply get nervous. That takes away the severity and realness of what I endure on a daily basis. Nobody really sees it as something that I cannot control because when I tell most people I’m having an anxiety attack or feeling overly anxious they say “I know you’ll be okay” or “I know how you feel.” I think the only people who were affected by my mental illness is me and my mom. She was the only one who understood what I was struggling with. It was very difficult to find counselors and/or doctors to believe me because they viewed it as a phase I was going through because my teenage years were just stressful however, that was not the case. I finally was diagnosed and prescribed Zoloft, an anti-depressant. I took it for about 6 months and I stopped taking it because it made me feel depressed and tired. I had no emotions at all and I wanted to secluded myself even more than I did before. I didn’t like telling anyone about my anxiety because like previously mentioned, it wasn’t taken seriously and it aggravated me when people would say they knew how I felt because they most certainly did not. If i could say anything to someone who is struggling with any mental illness, I would say STAY STRONG and know there is SOMEONE out there that genuinely understands how you feel. Don’t feel frustrated that other people are “normal” or don’t have to suffer from what you’re suffering from. Take your mental illness, learn about it, get some help, talk to people that understand you, and grow from it. You will come out the other side as a better person!! Your mental illness does not define you."

"I have depression. I received treatment after my friend told my school counselor that I was self harming and thinking about suicide. I was constantly overwhelmed with feelings of isolation, confusion, irritation and sadness. When my parents found out, it hit them really hard. It was hard for them to understand why I had depression, especially since they had only ever thought of me as a happy kid. They didn’t fully understand that there wasn’t a direct reason behind why I was depressed and feeling the way that I was. This made it so much harder on all of us because I didn’t want to communicate and they didn’t now know how to. I received therapy and began taking medication. From my experience, the only suggestion I can ever give people is to look at yourself and your illness independently and subjectively. Everyone’s brain is different; everyone’s emotions are different; everyone’s mental illnesses work in different ways."

"College was a very difficult depressive period of time for me. I had trouble sleeping at night and then would find myself sleeping through the day. My anger at myself for missing class or a social engagement would only intensify the depression and make me even lazier. My weigh fluctuated a lot as did my confidence. I remember at one point I felt so low and a friend had mentioned to me that she was seeing a counselor in the health center at Longwood. I called to make an appointment for myself and was told one wouldn’t be available for 2 weeks. With depression 2 weeks can seem like the longest and most daunting amount of time and the person answering the phone didn’t even seem to be phased by it. Now that I’m not longer a student my life has improved greatly and 2 weeks can just fly by. Maybe the pressure to balance academics, social life, working a job, navigating the dating scene during college overtook my emotions but there were times when I never felt more alone. For someone struggling now I would want to just tell you that it doesn’t last forever. I know it feels like just managing day to day tasks are exhausting and you just want to isolate yourself but things will get better. If someone had told me that I’m not sure I would’ve even believed them but I promise that you will feel like yourself again one day. It makes me sick to my stomach that was even a time of my life that I had to endure. I tried different medications and counselors and never had a positive experience with anything that I tried. The changes in my life finishing college improved my life greatly."