Senior Shares Her Battles With Mental Health

When it comes to mental health, examining the inside of someone’s head is far more important than judging physical characteristics. A person who seems like they are handling work just fine could be fighting every day just to complete basic tasks. Similar to a flower, one’s needs must be nurtured in order to grow. When given time and care, the bud opens up. In certain cases, those who have been through a long journey are willing to share what they have experienced.
Struggling with depression and anxiety, senior Ellie Broadway stresses that mental illness is not something someone should take lightly. Broadway believes that people need to educate themselves before judging someone.
There are everyday challenges that people with mental battles face. There is no telling when or how someone would feel at any given moment. Someone whose mind is under attack could feel symptoms of panic or even
“Sometimes the little things strike a nerve and I’ll randomly get quiet and sad. I usually recognize when this happens but it’s hard when there’s nothing you can do to help yourself. Randomly feeling sad just comes and goes in waves. It comes out of nowhere and I feel like people don’t understand this,” Broadway said.
When facing an episode, it could be hard to organize how exactly Broadway is feeling. Despite this, Broadway knows that does not mean there are no ways to escape.

“I’ve learned that journaling helps me cope when my mind is racing and I don’t feel like talking to anyone,” Broadway said. “Half the time I don’t even know how to express what I’m feeling and writing is a way to let out those emotions privately.”
Mental illness is unpredictable but it is not undefeatable. There are many ways to ground oneself in times of turmoil and there are many outlets to reach out to.
“My biggest thing that I encourage is reaching out. There are so many people that you can talk to even if it doesn’t feel like it,” Broadway said. “It’s easy to push away your emotions but in the long run that makes everything worse. It’s good to open up.” Going to therapy has significantly helped with Broadway’s anxiety and has even taught her problem solving skills. Those skills have assisted her in times when the outcome would have been frightful. Broadway encourages others to surround themselves with those who bring the best out of them and find time to do things they love.
The feeling of comfort plays an important part in healing and enables her to experience familiarity and peace.
“I make sure I make time for myself to do things that make me happy whether it’s watching a movie with my mom or reading by myself outside. My friends always make things better so I make sure I spend time with them as well,” Broadway said.
Instead of disconnecting from people, Broadway puts in the time to socialize with friends, plan out events, and go on road trips with them.
“I’m happy that I’m able to help spread awareness and to let people know that it’s okay to not be okay. I don’t want people to feel like they have to go through their battle alone,” Broadway said.
It is important to recognize that those with uncommon symptoms of mental illness should be approached with an open mind as well. “I struggle with depression and delusions,” Anonymous said. “My delusions are what affect me most as they often make me question what around me is really happening and can border on hallucinations.” Due to the fear-based stigma of these symptoms, Anonymous finds it difficult to share their thoughts with others in fear that their feelings would be invalidated by those around them. Society looks down upon those who experience visual conjurings of stress, labeling them as crazy psychopaths. Such stigmas are harmful for individuals who are trying to seek help because it paints them out to be dangerous.
Anonymous also faces difficulties when it comes to performing actions that society deems easy, such as getting out of bed to get ready.
Similar to Broadway, Anonymous finds comfort in interacting with those they are close to, finding solace in each other. Anonymous feels that doing so makes them feel most comfortable and human. By vocalizing their inner thoughts to someone or something, weight is lifted off their chest.
“To others who struggle with their mental health know that your issues no matter what they are are nothing to be ashamed of and that keeping it all in and away from those closest to you may seem helpful, it will just make you feel more pent up,” Anonymous said.