Instructions:
500-1000 words
My essay:
Mental health is something I feel has always been something taboo, both growing up in my family household, as well as in society. I grew up not understanding how to talk about how I felt and if I felt pain or stress, I was expected to be strong enough to overcome those feelings on my own. I remember worrying I would get in trouble if I were crying. This difficult subject has since led to how I interact with my work, relationships and career pathways now.
It was only a few years ago that I was driving alone on my way to a girl's weekend where I was so overwhelmed by stressors in life that I had a thought of driving off of the road. This was the first time a thought of this nature had popped into my head. Minute after minute of driving, I had a sinking sensation. I felt there was a bit of truth to the thought and was overcome by feelings of sadness, anger and confusion. I was so scared and alone with this thought and was worried. I cried hysterically, while still driving the winding mountain roads to the girl's weekend. I couldn't stop crying and I couldn't understand why I was so affected by this thought that I would never want to actually want to act upon.
I'm not sure what happened next, but all of the sudden I felt a little rational again. I asked myself, "is this reason to call the suicide prevention hotline?" After some deep breaths and a few more minutes of sitting in my idling car on the side of the highway, I called up a friend.
How lucky am I to have friends whom I feel I can reach out to with this sort of thing? I didn't understand what was happening, but I knew I was going to be able to be calmed down by a friend. So, I called her up and I told her everything. She was so respectful and understanding. What meant more to me than anything in that moment was that she trusted me.
She had confidence that I was telling her the truth when I said "I think it's just a crazy thought and I could never do that to my loved ones or myself." Her trust in me made me feel safe in talking about the truth. She made me understand the importance of taking taboo subjects off the table and communicating with the ones you love. This interaction has since shaped how I approach talking about mental health with my friends. I am not afraid to share this experience or ones like it. I am open and honest about the resources I use to maintain a level of stability and healthy behavior around stress.
I think that more people have suicidal thoughts, or ones like it than they're willing to admit. I have known people from my community who also act on these thoughts. I hope that one day access to normalizing mental health and therefore making people feel safe in talking about it will one day be. When we have compassion and empathy towards those dealing with mental health issues, we can take one step closer into making them feel heard and safe.
Some people don't have a support system like I do, and this is why I want to serve people as a nurse in my future career. It is so important to have a health care system that approaches a person as a whole and not only treats injury or illness, but physiological treatment can go a long way as well. I hope to take my compassion for people into this new career path to make everyone feel safe when interacting with me.
How has your experience with mental health influenced your beliefs, relationships, and career aspirations?
500-1000 words
My essay:
Mental health is something I feel has always been something taboo, both growing up in my family household, as well as in society. I grew up not understanding how to talk about how I felt and if I felt pain or stress, I was expected to be strong enough to overcome those feelings on my own. I remember worrying I would get in trouble if I were crying. This difficult subject has since led to how I interact with my work, relationships and career pathways now.
It was only a few years ago that I was driving alone on my way to a girl's weekend where I was so overwhelmed by stressors in life that I had a thought of driving off of the road. This was the first time a thought of this nature had popped into my head. Minute after minute of driving, I had a sinking sensation. I felt there was a bit of truth to the thought and was overcome by feelings of sadness, anger and confusion. I was so scared and alone with this thought and was worried. I cried hysterically, while still driving the winding mountain roads to the girl's weekend. I couldn't stop crying and I couldn't understand why I was so affected by this thought that I would never want to actually want to act upon.
I'm not sure what happened next, but all of the sudden I felt a little rational again. I asked myself, "is this reason to call the suicide prevention hotline?" After some deep breaths and a few more minutes of sitting in my idling car on the side of the highway, I called up a friend.
How lucky am I to have friends whom I feel I can reach out to with this sort of thing? I didn't understand what was happening, but I knew I was going to be able to be calmed down by a friend. So, I called her up and I told her everything. She was so respectful and understanding. What meant more to me than anything in that moment was that she trusted me.
She had confidence that I was telling her the truth when I said "I think it's just a crazy thought and I could never do that to my loved ones or myself." Her trust in me made me feel safe in talking about the truth. She made me understand the importance of taking taboo subjects off the table and communicating with the ones you love. This interaction has since shaped how I approach talking about mental health with my friends. I am not afraid to share this experience or ones like it. I am open and honest about the resources I use to maintain a level of stability and healthy behavior around stress.
I think that more people have suicidal thoughts, or ones like it than they're willing to admit. I have known people from my community who also act on these thoughts. I hope that one day access to normalizing mental health and therefore making people feel safe in talking about it will one day be. When we have compassion and empathy towards those dealing with mental health issues, we can take one step closer into making them feel heard and safe.
Some people don't have a support system like I do, and this is why I want to serve people as a nurse in my future career. It is so important to have a health care system that approaches a person as a whole and not only treats injury or illness, but physiological treatment can go a long way as well. I hope to take my compassion for people into this new career path to make everyone feel safe when interacting with me.
