Good Friends Make a Huge Difference

Starting in my junior year of high school I started to become very depressed. In the fall my grandfather died, which was very hard for me, and then later in the winter one of my good friends died in a tragic and unexpected accident. For me that was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal with, and still is to this day. She didn’t go to my high school, so I didn’t have close friends around that knew what I was going through. I felt extremely isolated and alone since they didn’t ever want to talk about it for fear of upsetting me, but all I wanted to do was talk and be comforted and know I had people there to support me. My parents were very worried about my mental health and depression and I believe they thought I was going to hurt myself (which was never on my mind) because I wasn’t getting better and they could see how alone I was. They discussed having me see a psychologist. It never went that far, but sometimes I wonder if that would have helped. I began cutting myself away from my friends more and more, into senior year as well. Then about a year later in the winter of my senior year, a friend of mine from my high school passed away from an unexpected health problem. I couldn’t believe it was all happening again. I could feel all the same emotions come rushing back, but this time it was different because I had friends that could relate to how I was feeling. I made new ones who were there for me and even though it was still incredibly difficult to deal with, I had a much easier time that time around because I had that community and friend support. Coming to IC, I have found some really amazing friends who have always been there for me. My grandma passed away a couple weeks ago and I really couldn’t have asked for better people in my life, they were there to comfort me and really showed that they cared and that is just what I needed. My mental health has definitely improved over these last couple years and I especially credit the great friends I’ve made here. 

Ithaca Faculty

Something that I often struggle with is the difficulties of balancing my school work and maintaining friendships and social relationships outside of class.  I want to spend time with my friends and experience Ithaca while I am young!  However, I feel that my work load, essays and time management keeps me from enjoying my weekends.  Mentally, this stress becomes hard to manage and I often bottle up my frustrations.  Throughout this semester, however, I have been opening up to the kind faculty at Ithaca College.  I never realized how many inspirational and knowledgable people surround me and how they provide amazing outlets to letting me speak my mind.  I have been told from many teachers that grades are not what truly matter - knowledge and power comes from what I get out of the classroom and apply to my personal life.  The real way to learn is by doing and spreading valuable lessons with friends and family.  This perspective has allowed my mind to relax and enjoy what is around me for these rare 4 years.  I am so happy to be working with such lovely faculty and safe teachers that provide me with support and care.  I am thankful to be a student at IC!

Sophomore Slump

I never thought that I would be one who had anxiety attacks and mental issues in my life as bad as they are. It started during the summer when my ex-girlfriend toyed with me for almost the entire summer and at the end of it, decided to break up with me thinking I didn't love her and I put her through so much and that I would never find someone who would love me and that I'll be miserable for a long tim. Soon after that, my dad's mother and sister past away in late August. Going into my sophomore year, I wasn't sure that I'd make it. I had serveral anxiety attacks that made me question what I was doing and if I'll ever make something of myself. The pressure of coming from a family and being the first one to go to college really wears on my mind and sometimes I thought of it as too much pressure. i didn't want this. Then my brother past in October. His passing really hit me and till now its still hard to move on. I did in fact feel lost without his guidance and wanted to dropout of college and disappear because my mind couldn't take his passing. It still can't. It's taken a while now to make peace with what has happened and there are still times where I have really bad anxiety and question my whole life, and it kinda depresses me a little. So you could say my mental health isn't really where it should be, but thankfully I have great friends at IC, a girlfriend, and family I can go to for support.

Help with my Eating Disorder

When I was a junior in high school I developed an eating disorder after an ankle injury crushed my dreams of doing sports for a Division I college. By the end of my senior year in high school I had cut myself off from friends, lost 30 pounds, and was headed off to college a very sick and confused person, unable to admit there was anything wrong. Once I came to Ithaca I realized that if I didn't change my college experience was going to be miserable just like my last few years of high school. I finally found the courage to seek help from the counseling center. Talking over my issues helped me admit that I had a problem and then take the necessary steps to recover. The counseling center made me feel comfortable expressing my issues and helped me to recover from the disease. Because of this resource I have been able to have an absolutely amazing college experience!

My experience with Anxiety at IC

Anxiety is a tricky problem.  It is something that pervades your everyday existence so much that you learn how to live with it.  It frames the way you think, the way you act and the way you live in the world.  I have an anxiety problem.  For the first 20 years of my life, I was completely unaware that it was a problem.  I had always tried to deal with everything on my own.  I figured everyone found a way to deal with the problems in their life, why should I be any different?  One day everything boiled over.  It became too much to deal with and I broke down.  I simply couldn’t do it on my own.  I had no idea what to do so I stumbled into CAPS.  They asked me what I needed and I simply didn’t know.  I just knew something was wrong and I couldn’t keep afloat alone.  That first meeting I just talked.  I talked and I talked and got out all these feelings I hadn’t expressed.  It was therapeutic to just spill all those words out and not worry about what they meant.  I continued to go to CAPS after that day.  It has helped me to learn things about myself.  Most importantly it helped me realize I had a problem and that it was ok to get help for it.  Just knowing that people care and that you can express your feelings is a freeing experience.  

Welcome!

Hi everyone,

ICstoriesfromstudents is a blog dedicated to sharing stories regarding mental health and awareness at Ithaca College.