Anonymous

Photography by Jimmy Woo

If you're reading this, I want to take a minute to share my story. 

Growing up, mental health was never a lengthy conversation. If you had a bad day, you went to sleep hoping you would feel better tomorrow. No adult wanted to talk about what it meant to be sad and what to do when you were stressed or anxious. The conversation of mental health, at least for me, started with my peers in high school. It was only after lightly testing the waters did I realize that the feelings I felt were so incredibly... normal. I can't describe the level of comfort I felt knowing that I wasn't the only one who had these feelings of intense stress, anxiety, and lengthy periods of sadness.

Introducing terminology like "mental health" to my everyday life helped me and my friends actually think and talk about what we could do to help each other and help ourselves. Because of this, I joined Active Minds in college. In my time, I've been able to continue the conversation around mental health by listening and learning from other students about their journey. Being able to know you have people to talk to is incredibly validating, and I'm grateful to have found so many people who have gone through so much and actively want to create a system of support.

Anonymous, Virginia Commonwealth University

This post is a part of a collaboration between IfYoureReadingThis.org and Active Minds.

Active Minds VCU is part of the larger national organization that is dedicated to fostering a safe environment for students to discuss their mental health journey and find members for their support system. AM regularly hosts events open to members and students to get to know each other and promote ways to increase wellbeing. If you’re interested in joining the org, please visit @activemindsvcu on Instagram.

Connect With Us

To follow IfYoureReadingThis at VCU on Instagram, get in touch with our chapter, and learn about more resources available to VCU students, visit our chapter’s homepage.