Category: College

Breaking Free From the Cage of Productivity

Breaking Free From the Cage of Productivity

Author: D.O Vo   During my time in university, having to combat the suffocating experience of bipolar depression truly felt like I was drowning. I was trapped in this never-ending cycle of being unable to complete my school work because I struggled with...

Not Only Surviving, but Thriving

Not Only Surviving, but Thriving

Author: Natalia A. Beiser I counter negativity about mental illness by acquiring and displaying survival skills. I do not let having bipolar disorder hold me back from completing anything. I strive to be a great example of how to live with mental illness. I was a...

Navigating College with Bipolar Disorder

Navigating College with Bipolar Disorder

By: Jake Being enrolled in college while having bipolar disorder can be a tough task. College is an exciting time for many, as it marks the beginning of a new chapter of life. However, when dealing with a mental illness this time period can be very stressful. The good...

I wish that my mother would have had a therapist

I wish that my mother would have had a therapist

Author: Margaret Fitzgerald I wish that my Mother would have sought out therapy when I was a child. I know that this may have been somewhat unheard of in the 1970s. In recent years, we have learned that my Mother experiences post-traumatic stress disorder. I have...

Sharing My Story

Sharing My Story

Author: Courtney As a child, I was always very hyper and recognized that I was different from many of my peers. It wasn’t until the first couple years of high school that I started suffering from depression. I did not recognize that what I was feeling...

Mental Illness in “Zillennials”

Mental Illness in “Zillennials”

Author: Savannah Spurlock Zillennials face a great stigma when it comes to mental health.  Society says it’s the way we were raised that led us to our ultimate downfall.  They say it’s the technology we use, the lack of education we received, and the work...

A Letter to my Fellow College Students 

A Letter to my Fellow College Students 

Author: Claire Gault Receiving a bipolar diagnosis is difficult in any stage of life, but as a senior in college, I can testify to the challenges of balancing priorities between mental health and school. College culture often encourages unhealthy habits, and...

How I Get Through The School Year While Managing My Bipolar Disorder

How I Get Through The School Year While Managing My Bipolar Disorder

Author: Jasper James Naturally, when I think of the first day of school, I experience anxiety and extreme nervousness. One of the tricks I like to use is mindfulness to get me through my anxiety. I simply take the “butterflies in my stomach” feeling and ramp it up to...

Back to School, Sort of

Back to School, Sort of

Author: George Hofmann I’m the father of a 9-year-old girl who will be starting school in front of a Chromebook this fall. I also have bipolar disorder, and sticking to a strict routine has been crucial to my recovery and stability. That all changed last spring. Our...

Being Brave By Being Vulnerable

Being Brave By Being Vulnerable

Author: Courtney Casal I’ve found the stigma to be true, at least in my experience: having a conversation about your mental illness with your professors, much less anyone, is incredibly daunting. No matter how confident you might feel, you are immediately fearful of...

University and Accessibility

University and Accessibility

By: Greg Walshaw I was finishing my first year of a Master’s program when things started to change. The first time I stayed up all night to work on a paper, I thought nothing of it: the paper had to get done, and this was the cost of getting it done. I remember...

Accepting My Diagnosis

Accepting My Diagnosis

By: Sydney Batt I felt slightly relieved the day I was diagnosed with having bipolar disorder– it felt good to have an explanation for my actions, however the days to come were very difficult. I was very emotional the first couple months after my...

Becoming a Psychologist with Bipolar II Disorder

Becoming a Psychologist with Bipolar II Disorder

By: Lauren Yang Springtime tends to make me reflective on the transitions I’ve had in life. I’ll notice how time has passed when I see high school graduation photos and hear about acceptances into graduate or professional school programs. While friends were moving...

Managing School While Feeling Depressed or Manic

Managing School While Feeling Depressed or Manic

By: Sydney Batt Students living with Bipolar disorder have challenges not many people see or understand. Features of bipolar disorder make it tough to thrive in school, so it may feel like a lonely battle in the classroom. School stressors can contribute to triggering...

Balancing Care For Others And Yourself

Balancing Care For Others And Yourself

One part of being a mental health advocate that I pride myself on is being a walking pamphlet of resources for people struggling with mental health and being able to help them help themselves. As a student on Binghamton University’s campus, I am well known among my...

Technique for Studying During Depression

Technique for Studying During Depression

When there is a big storm that will knock out your power you prepare for it, right? Typically, you keep water, a flashlight, and some food that doesn’t require cooking because you might lose all power. To some extent, it’s the same when preparing for a low...

Staying With School Through The Storm

Staying With School Through The Storm

I went back to school in August 2015 to City College of San Francisco feeling confident that I would do well with my studies. It was like a breath of fresh air as I passed test after test and scored A’s on my psychology papers. Then my life seemed to go down a road...

I Have Finally Arrived!

I Have Finally Arrived!

I started playing ice hockey at the age of 25. About four years after I started I took up goaltending. I loved it so much that in 2001 I decided I wanted to become a sports psychologist. I always knew that I wanted to go back to school to get my Masters, but it wasn’t...

Going to College with Bipolar Disorder

Sarah shares her advice for teens who have bipolar disorder and aren’t sure if they should go to college or not. Going to college is absolutely possible. The most important things that have helped Sarah be successful are sticking to her treatment plan and a...

All I Have

All I Have

All I have is a doctor or two, some friends, a bottle of pills, and a big mouth. These all serve as strategies to cope when I’m feeling especially hypomanic or depressed. I’m not the most strategic person in the world, but these few little “mental illness...

Twenty-Four

Twenty-Four

When I envisioned myself at 24 I always thought I would be a huge success. I would be on the front page of fortune magazine, I would have a nice car, a nice house, nice family and nice job. I assumed I’d be out of the house and on my own. I’d be working a career I...

Hope

Hope

I have been battling a depressive episode for the last two months. We fool around with my medications but I haven’t felt like myself in about five months. Three days ago I posted a photo on my Instagram account about recovery and thought a quote about recovery...

Garnering Hope

Garnering Hope

College is a time for creating memories with friends, stressing over the five midterms you have this week, and discovering the importance of napping, right? Once I graduated from high school, college came a-knocking three months later. Among those at my door were...

Continuing Recovery

Continuing Recovery

“Hey, how are you?” Oh man. Yikes. Whoa. Here we go again. I pause and consider my options in response to this question. If you have bipolar or experience any other form of mental illness, you probably understand why this question can be so tricky to answer. Do I...

Let Go

Let Go

For many years I have carried a huge weight on my heart, my soul and my mind. While I was battling my bipolar illness six years ago, many things happened in my life that were an outcome of my illness but not typical of my true personality, values and morals.  I...

Getting Help

Getting Help

Getting help for my bipolar disorder was one of the hardest and best things I’ve done. I’m a pretty proud and independent person so opening up and making myself vulnerable was extremely daunting. I was in my third and final year of university when I knew...

Diagnosed During College Is Not The End Of The World

Diagnosed During College Is Not The End Of The World

Being diagnosed with bipolar disorder three semesters before you are supposed to graduate with a bachelor in psychology and neuroscience was not written in my life plan. In fact having a mental illness and anything that would stop me from pursuing my dream of becoming...

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