Sam S.
If you’re reading this, mental health matters.
I became aware of my anxiety disorder the first week of my 7th-grade year. I lost my childhood dog the weekend before school started, and broke my arm three days later at a soccer practice. My life quickly turned upside down because I no longer had my dog, whom I had relied on so much since birth, for mental support and companionship, and I also broke my arm so badly that I was unable to participate in sports for two months. With my arm in a sling, I missed out on my school season and a majority of my club season. I had never lost a close family member, nor had I ever broken a bone, and this overwhelmed me. My emotions spiraled out of control, and anxiety consumed my social and school life. Learning to write with my left hand and missing my support systems and exercise, I felt alone and fragile.
My parents and teachers became aware of my declining mental health and suggested that I try therapy. As a shy kid who was taught by society that men don’t have emotions and are strong, I refused to reveal my soft side and my struggle. I was embarrassed and didn’t want people to know that I was struggling because I felt mentally weak. What I failed to realize at such a young age and what my public school system didn’t teach me are that so many people around me were going through something similar. Whether it's anxiety, depression, ADHD, eating disorders, substance abuse, etc., chances are a majority of people will face mental health challenges at some point in their lives.
I became more aware of this as I started my therapy, and this helped ease my mind. I realized that I wasn’t weak or hopeless, and that it was perfectly okay to not be okay. The more I talked about my struggles with anxiety, the more comfortable I became with it. Like any unfamiliar concept, mental health can be hard to understand at first, but the more I educated myself and the more I talked with others, the easier it became to calm my brain and realize that my anxiety wasn’t so abnormal. When I talked with my friends and family, I became aware of their struggles with mental health, which further relaxed my mind. Suddenly, I wasn’t alone, weak, or different; there were people around me who could relate to me and offer me support.
The single biggest thing I’ve taken away from my struggles with anxiety is the importance of talking about it. I was afraid to tell people about my anxiety, and that further worsened it, making me anxious about what they would think or how they would view me. I tended to shut myself in and deal with it on my own out of fear, which I learned is the worst thing you can do. I started to open up, and to my surprise, it was like every person in my life who became aware of my anxiety became another support system. It’s comforting to know that people are aware of your struggles and even more comforting to learn that you are not alone. Mental health is a serious issue, and the best thing we can do for one another as a society is to talk about it.
Sam S., Syracuse University
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