#1700 I confess that my freshman year I struggled with anorexia, depression, and considered suicide at one point. Three years later, I have overcome these struggles (mostly, I still have lapses sometimes) and am finally mostly happy with myself and my relationships. SHS was probably the worst resource I went to because the doctor tried to scare me into eating. I understood my internal organs could fail and I was a few pounds from being hospitalized, but when someone tells you to eat 3000 calories when youre used to eating close to nothing, you kind of freak out. At least I did. But I did really want to get better, maybe just a little more slowly SHS thought I should. They were trying to help, just not in a way that worked for me. Making new friends and joining clubs with people I enjoyed, helped relieve my depression and anorexia. When I was happier, I would start eating more. It also helped when I began setting small goals for myself (like running a half marathon, finishing knitting a scarf, finishing a paper). I planned my time around student groups, work, and alone time. Just creating schedules made me feel like I was living with a purpose and helped me regain control of my life. I really wanted to get better, which was what ultimately helped me overcome my anorexia especially. Yea, my grades were horrible my freshman year, but I utilized cornerstone on campus and was able to raise my GPA significantly by my senior year. Before I end this rant, I want to mention one thing. A person can become depressed when they feel they lack to a purpose in life and have an inability to form or maintain relationships, either platonic or romantic. What I do not understand, however, is when people say that theyre happiness is dependent on having a boyfriend. Some of my friends who have been depressed have told me that they think having a boyfriend will make their problems go away because a boyfriend is supposed to always love you. I disagree with this completely. I had a boyfriend throughout all of my issues. Yes, he helped to some extent, but having him around did not solve my problems. The point I am trying to make is that having a boyfriend can help, but will never remove the underlying issues. More likely, your depression and self-loathing will pop up in your relationship and have negative consequences. It did in my case, but we were able to overcome this and it eventually strengthened our relationship. I dont really expect anyone to read this, but it was on my mind and its nice to finally write this. Ive been trying to work out how I finally got over my anorexia and depression and writing this was immensely helpful. I cant ever say that I would want to repeat my freshman year, but I think I turned out better because of it.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 23:29:21 +0000