Encourage Mental Health

Today I completed my 6-month long specialist MSW internship at an adolescent partial hospitalization program. Nothing in my whole education has been more meaningful than this experience. All of the kids I’ve worked with have shaped my future goals as a social worker and how I see the world. What was most impactful for me to witness was that when youth are in a safe and comforting environment, they offer each other the most genuine and authentic support. No matter the circumstance, diagnosis, or trauma history, I have had the privilege to see some level of self-growth and encouragement for others in EVERY kid I’ve worked with.  My takeaways:  1. Mental health in schools is a requirement in New York, and meeting the minimum quota is not enough. Skills for anger management, emotion regulation, and self-respect can be implemented at any age or grade-level. This can only happen with a combination of meaningful training and the cooperation of administration and faculty.  2. We all need to li

Tomorrow night was supposed to be my induction ceremony (thanks Covid), so I’m celebrating instead by telling my story. When I was a junior in college, I began having mental health symptoms which I tried to ignore; I was too busy. Days after my semester ended, I had a complete mental break which left me panicked, paranoid, and unable to leave my house or stay home alone out of fear. Within weeks, I went from writing a 25-page paper on The Enlightenment to my mind racing so fast that I could not drive, read, or write. It was devastating. Over the next 6 months, I was hospitalized 5 times, spending nearly 3 months total inpatient. The most painful day of my treatment was when I needed to withdraw from my senior year.  During my intensive treatments and medication changes, I pushed myself to re-enroll. However, I became more symptomatic and overwhelmed. I wasn’t ready. I ended up taking a medical leave to focus solely on recovery.  After several years of treatment, I felt more confident a

While some people thrive on New Year's resolutions, I do not. When I developed my mental health condition in 2013, I realized the importance of taking life day by day. While I do have goals, and I am thrilled to be completing graduate school this August, I take early January to remind myself of what brings meaning to my life and reassess what I can do to show kindness to myself and others. This year, I am not setting a New Year’s resolution, but I am instead vowing to do something each day to better someone’s life. Whether I am taking care of my own needs, or helping my family, my neighbor, or a stranger, I want to make the world a better place, and that begins with simple kindness. Reminding someone, even yourself, that there is still good in the world is the first step in perpetuating hope, appreciation, and community. While we may try to eat cleaner, walk further, and go to sleep earlier this year, I encourage everyone to choose kindness in 2021.