Beyond Stigma: Bringing the Conversation About

Mental Illness Forward CONVERSATIONS AT THE CARTER CENTER

Discussing Mental Health in College

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The following presentation features quotes and images from Step Inside My Head, a

project by former Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellow Billy Howard.

“These stories introduce you to young people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness and have actively and courageously participated in their recovery and treatment.

They have revealed intimate details from their experiences in the hopes of starting an honest discussion on mental

health, dispelling stereotypes and encouraging other young people who are suffering to get treatment.”

– Billy Howard

“I believe that I will always have depression. The thing is, is that now I feel like I’m not powerless over it.” -Gordon

“The best way that I can describe my depression is that my brain

hates who I am, either through bad wiring or misfiring neurons, it hates

me.”

“If he could knock his younger self on the head and have a

conversation with him, he said he would tell him to

get help, talk to his family, talk to anybody.”

-Billy on Gordon

His future? Graduate school with an emphasis on adolescent therapy: “My goal is to start a group practice that focuses predominantly on adolescents who need counseling services.”-Gordon

In the past year, 31 percent of college students have felt so depressed that it was

difficult to function and more than 50 percent have felt overwhelming

anxiety, making it hard to succeed academically.

American College Health Association (2012). American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II: Reference Group Executive Summary Spring 2012.

Retrieved from http://www.acha-ncha.org/docs/ACHA-NCHA-II_ReferenceGroup_ExecutiveSummary_Spring2012.pdf.

“After years of misdiagnosis and frustration he was finally diagnosed with bi-polar disorder at 16 and entered into a series of treatment centers.”

“You actually get a second life and it’s kind of like a rebirth after you get diagnosed…”-Grayson

“I just want everyone to know that it’s not the end if you are diagnosed with something. It’s not the end, it’s

just a new beginning, it’s a new place to start from and life is a

lesson and life is a journey and you just have to take from it what you

can get.” -Grayson

Almost 73 percent of students living with a mental health condition experienced a mental health crisis on campus. Yet, 34 percent reported that their college did not know about their crisis.

More than half of young adults who are no longer in college are not attending college because of a mental health related reason.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (2012). College students speak: Survey report on mental health. Retrieved: www.nami.org/collegereport

“When I first got the diagnosis I was relieved more than scared because I finally realized that I was normal and a lot of people have this problem…”-Rachel

Of the nearly 19 million Americans who suffer from depression, half of them report onset before age 20.Malmon, A. (2006). Statistics on Young Adults & Mental Health. Active Minds. Retrieved: http://www.sprc.org/sites/sprc.org/files/library/ReachingOut_amorrison.pdf

 “Get help as soon as possible, go talk to somebody, go to your parents or your guardian or a doctor and just say I think there’s a problem, because I promise, that will be the best thing that you ever do!”-Rachel

Around 22 percent of all Americans who are 18 and older suffer from a diagnosable disorder in any given year.

Malmon, A. (2006). Statistics on Young Adults & Mental Health. Active Minds.Retrieved: http://www.sprc.org/sites/sprc.org/files/library/ReachingOut_amorrison.pdf

Young adults aged 18-24 have the highest prevalence of mental illness at 27 percent.

“The first time Emily forced herself to throw up, she locked herself in the bathroom and spent an hour sticking her hand down her throat trying to gag. She finally succeeded.

She was 15 years old.”

“During the day I wouldn’t eat anything, I would only drink a Diet Coke at lunch and then I would come home and be so hungry that I couldn’t help myself but to eat a whole bunch of food and felt so guilty that I would go upstairs and get rid of it.”-Emily

“Her parents’ reaction was supportive. They then told her brothers and the family worked as a team to help her. She began therapy and credits her therapist with allowing her to slowly withdraw from her eating disorder.”

“I realize now that your weight—your body image—doesn’t determine who you are as a person.”-Emily

“No matter what your size is, no matter what your hair color is, being you is the most true form of beauty.”

Even the most serious mental illnesses can be treated and people can recover to live productive lives at school or within their communities.