A complex problem that I have worked on this year is to be able to understand mental health better and create awareness of it in society. I believe mental health is overlooked in society and not many people understand the importance of it. I pursued to dive deeper into this complex problem that exists in the world today because I have dealt with mental health issues myself for two years now. Specifically, I have battled continuously with anxiety which started at the end of my senior year in high school and has stayed with me ever since. However, sophomore year is when I learned more about what mental health actually is.
My sophomore year in college has been by far the hardest year of school I have had to endure. I was constantly anxious every day and had to reassure myself that I will be okay. I had lost my confidence and motivation to do anything, especially with the stress of declaring what I wanted to do in life. I felt extremely lost and behind because I started of as a biology major my freshmen year on the pre-dental track. However, I felt as if I wasn’t good enough for dental school and switched to business my sophomore year. Once sophomore year started, I knew something felt different and out of place. I missed taking science courses and felt as I gave up on my dream to become a dentist. The stress that I kept inside of me built up every day to the point I was worried I would explode. I would worry about my future a lot and grades to the point it consumed me and became an obsession. I soon realized that sophomore year was the year I needed to discover my identity and find out what truly makes me happy. With the support of my friends and family, I had enough confidence to give dentistry another chance. Immediately, my anxiety levels went down because the main source of my stress was figuring out my major.
The state that my anxiety put me through in sophomore year was like a roller-coaster. Some days I would be fine, and others would only give me reasons to be sad. However, sophomore year made me realize that my anxiety does not make me weak, but it makes me stronger. I have learned how to control it and be okay with it. It was not easy. I have lost sleep and weight in the process, but more importantly I didn’t lose my battle against anxiety. Every day was a new day to work on my anxiety and help improve myself. Different things work for different people, but I have discovered that meditation, eating healthy, and listening to music have aided me in being calmer and more confident.
Mental health does exist, and I know I am not the only one who has to battle through it. Not many people talk about it or are open about the topic because they believe it is a sign of weakness and that others won’t understand. For a while I was afraid that something was wrong with me and that I will never be happy again. I was clearly wrong. I want to shed light on mental health and let people know that it is okay not to be okay. You do not have to pretend for others because hiding your true feelings will just make it worse. Acceptance of who you are is the first step to conquer any mental illness.
My next goals in this topic is to create a website to share my story in hopes that others will feel comfortable in doing the same. I want to create awareness on mental health and shine light on it from a different perspective. Suffering from mental health does not make one weak, however it is what makes one strong. I hope I can make a difference in people’s lives and remove any bad stigmas on this complex problem in society.