So I will come right out and say that I have been battling with depression lately. This is very unlike me, and took me by surprise when I could not get out of bed for over two weeks. I got behind in classes, papers, tests, quizzes, etc. I contemplated withdrawing because the feelings of being overwhelmed crippled me, and getting behind only magnified the situation.
I went to class one day in the middle of this and had a break down moment in front of a fellow classmate who took the initiative to type a line on a blank word document and told me to WRITE! So I did. In 45 minutes I had written the issues paper that I was 4 days late turning in. Small accomplishment. Then I went to class to turn in the paper and my professor confronted me about my odd behavior lately. He insisted that I go see the school nurse to be screened for depression. I did just that and started a web of understanding and support. The nurse set me up an appointment with a doctor to get on an anti depressant and to begin the process of helping myself out of my anxiety.
This is not a story about depression as much as it is a story about kind and understanding friends, faculty and staff that helped me see what was wrong. I did not want to talk to anyone about anything and all it took was opening up to the right people to show me the path to help.
I am still battling the urge to go to bed but every day someone shows me some kind gesture that helps me get through it and keep persevering.
How would you handle a student who is suddenly showing warning signs of something being wrong without any self awareness on their part?
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