What does it mean to have a mental health disorder? Depression and anxiety, and the lesser-known panic disorder, often overlap in symptoms and diagnoses. With rates of mental health issues among college students increasing, some claim college student mental health is in a crisis. Here are the stories of students and recent alumni of Texas State University who suffer from mental health disorders, how they came to terms with their illnesses and how they've affected their lives.
Experience a panic attack and the anxiety around it.
Stories like the one above play out daily for students with mental health disorders. One of the most challenging aspects of coming to terms with these disorders is recongizing when one actually has one. Discussion often revolves around whether the issues are real or not, and whether medication is necessary. Some consider mental health disorders not to be real, which often further keeps those who suffer from seeking help.
Every person who struggles with mental health disorders has a different story. Their issues manifest in different ways, their symptoms often overlap with other disorders, making it hard to self-diagnose. And while each disorder is separate, they often are diagnosed together, or tendencies for the effects of one disorder may manifest like another.
Below are three stories of students at Texas State Unviersity who have dealt with mental health disorders. From coming to terms with their respecitve issues, seeking treatment and seeing how the disorder has affected their lives and the lives of those around them, these stories show the profound effects these issues have on the lives of students before, during and after their time in university. Perhaps these features will open the eyes of skeptics to one of today's largest health issues, showing that the problems are more than just bad states of mind.