- Mental Health
Rachel is a beautiful young lady of 21 years from Illinois in her senior year of college. When she was 16 she was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Her and her family did not really know what was going on, as there were no diagnosed cases of addiction, alcoholism or mental illness in her family so far.
She was drinking and showing bad behavior at times by acting angry and irritated. She passed out at a concert after too much alcohol consumption and based on hospital recommendation, she went to treatment into a dual diagnosis facility for adolescents.
At first, it was not easy to find the right treatment and after her release she entered into a severe psychosis. Her parents immediately brought her to the psych ward for a few days until she was detoxed from the medication that seemed to cause the psychosis. Soon after she got a different medication and has been doing well ever since. It turned out that she did not have a full alcohol addiction; she simply used and abused alcohol because she couldn’t understand her own feelings before. Today she is a social drinker at college, drinking extremely moderately only at special occasions and without the urge to continue.
Her parents were overwhelmed at first, but loving and supporting the whole time. Looking back today Rachel is very grateful for the love she received, even though she recalls the times when she had nothing but bad words coming from her mouth. She is now studying to become a clinical psychologist or work as a social worker in her future, helping those with mental health issues.
There is a lot of talk at her college about the stigma associated with addiction and mental health issues and she supports the movement to break the stigma full force. Rachel considers herself lucky, that she didn’t face stigma as she had to go through her recovery. She went to a small private school at this time and had lots of support. She hopes that everybody has the chance to reach out for help without being judged. Rachel feels very stable and content today, experiencing normal levels of anxiety or sadness like anybody else.
Rachel asks that other young people who are having difficulty with their feelings, behavior or stability to seek help without fear. The problem might be something simple and help might make your life a lot better. She also would like to ask other healthy people not to judge people by their disease, as they are facing a hard time anyway to get over it and need support, not judgment.
Just like any other college student, she is looking forward to travel home for the holidays to see her loving parents and old friends today, knowing that her mental health issue won’t be an issue thanks to her recovery and stabilization. She is still careful with alcohol or any legal drugs, since she has always to be aware of possible interactions. Illegal drugs are a no-go-zone for her.