If any of you know me well, you know that mental health is a topic I hold near and dear to my heart. As someone who suffers from depression and anxiety, I know how difficult it can be some days to get out of bed and function normally, let alone balance an insane college schedule. Most people that attend DePauw are involved in at least four separate things on campus, whether that’s being a part of a sports team, being involved in student media, Greek life, outside clubs, volunteer hours, etc. Add a rigorous course load on top of that and it’s enough to make anyone’s head spin.
DePauw’s culture is made for overachievers. Most of the time, it is considered weird or foreign for someone to not be involved in anything other than simply going to class. We are constantly pushing each other to do more, and be better, and most of the time this culture is extremely beneficial because it prepares us for the real world outside of our DePauw bubble. Everyone can seem to remember how to juggle all of the things they need to do each day on campus, but they can’t seem to remember how to take time for their mental health. When was the last time you spoke to a therapist you had back home? Read a book for leisure? Went on a quiet walk to take time for introspection? Probably never! Once the school year gets going, there is almost no time to take a breath to stop for air, to make sure that you are taking care of your body and your mind.
It is a huge issue not just on our college campus but on campuses everywhere, and it’s an issue that nobody seems to want to talk about. Like any other illness, mental illness is a medical condition. Often times it requires medication and one-on-one therapy. Everyone is so afraid to talk about it though, for fear that people will call them “crazy” or “psycho” or “attention-seeking”. I’m here to tell you as a fellow student struggling, that if you are going through the same thing, it is real, and there are people who are more than willing to listen. People are eager, in fact, to hear your story and share theirs as well. Releasing the built-up tension that you are struggling with is okay, and it is so freeing and so important. The stigma surrounding mental illness is so discouraging because it simply traps people in a cycle of silence where they are too afraid to voice their struggles because they feel alone.
I think we as a campus need to start having more open conversations about the issues of mental health. We are able to have conversations about issues such as race, class, sexual orientation, and many other issues that make people uncomfortable, yet we are so unwilling to talk about the struggles that are most often due to small, chemical imbalances in our brains. It saddens and worries me, as suicide rates in America are higher than ever. We must be cognizant of each other and try our best to take care of each other by letting everyone know that it is okay to admit to struggling with mental illness or low points in our mental health. I am more than happy to start this conversation, and I hope you will be willing to spread it with me.