- Friends & Family
- Mental Health
Submitted by: Susanne Johnson
I met Kim at the Recovery Run Baton Rouge 5K. She came to run the race to raise awareness and show her support and fundraise for the LSU Collegiate Recovery community. While she is not in recovery for addiction, she has struggled with mental health issues throughout her life. She said she is in recovery from depression and mood disorders. “The college services for addiction or mental health recovery are limited, we need something more comprehensive to help the students like me,” she says.
Kim came a long way. She was misdiagnosed so many times and put on wrong medications more times than she can count. Her life in the past years involved constantly trying new ways to overcome her problems. She, like many others, turned at times to addictive substances, primarily alcohol to self-medicate her problems, as the right medication for her could not be found.
Alcohol and drugs are a slippery slope and she knows that she was lucky to not get addicted to substances while trying to ease her mind. She had started to use and drink in college, mainly because of her feelings and her medications not working for her. She felt a pressure to be normal. It did not help, but it gave her the illusion she could be normal. It took a while to see that this was not the solution to her problems, but she managed to get out of substance use in time.
While in college she saw many counselors who were still in training, who did not not have the proper experience to guide her through her mental health problems. A couple of years back she felt like she was hitting a brick wall and finally went to a licensed psychiatrist and found the help that she needed, working closely with her general physician to find the right medication for her. “You need to go to a professional, if you suffer like me from depression and anxiety, it can make all the difference. Mental health issues are treatable and once you find the right medication you feel so much better”. Kim reached out for help and found it. Getting a CRC program on campus gives her hope that future students will be able to get the help that they need.
Kim was raised in a good family and she remembers how her parents felt guilty when they found out about her mental health issues. They thought they had done something wrong. She likes to point out to her parents, and others in the same situation, that this is not the case. “Nothing CAUSES a mental health problem. You have not done something wrong as parents,” Kim said.
Kim decided to be open about her mental health issues to give others hope and help to break the stigma. She doesn’t like how the media potrays people with mental health problems and would love to see a change there.
Looking back with the knowledge she has today, she sees that there is definitely a trail of mental health issues and other addictions present in her family history. She was not aware of that before she became familiar with her own problems. But it is obvious to her today.
She came to run the 5K for awareness and support, but she always likes to run. It helps her with stress, clears her mind and is a great addition to her therapy. Exercise is not only important for physical health, but also for mental health, in her opinion.