Since July 2023 I've made it a commitment to exercise weekly. I've been swimming 2-3 times a week and it's become a habit and lifestyle change. I've noticed my mood, energy level, fitness and eating habits have shifted and it's improved my response to the challenges in life. My family has also noticed the difference. I feel like a brand new person. I'm thankful for the friends and family that spur me on! The best is yet to come!
- Ms Zee
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My mental health story begins at the peak of COVID-19. I started to struggle with an eating disorder the summer I turned 15 years old. For a long time, I was absolutely certain I didn’t have any serious issues, and from then on it was a snowball effect, getting worse until the whole thing blew up in my face. It continued to worsen in grade 11. My grades were suffering because I couldn’t focus in class and I wouldn’t allow myself to go out with friends. To this day, one of the things I regret the most is the trust I broke with my mom and the hurt I caused her. The biggest mistake I ever made in terms of my mental health was telling myself it had to get worse before it got better. I felt like I didn’t deserve to recover and a small part of me didn’t want to let go of my eating disorder because it felt like a friend (I know I sound crazy). The winter of grade 11, I went to go see a doctor, but I was refused help. I felt devastated and ashamed and partly embarrassed for believing I’d suffered enough to ask for help. I was in a low place for a while, until I realised I needed to be the one to advocate for my recovery. I truly wish I could say my journey to recovery was swift, but the reality is, recovering is hardly ever linear. My growth was uncomfortable and messy and more often than not, I felt anxious about every little thing, but change doesn’t happen if a change isn’t made. You must be on your own side, you must advocate for yourself, and you must never be scared to outgrow the life you’ve built. In grade 12, my journey is far from over, but I’ve come a long way in ending the painful pattern.
-Anonymous (Gr 12) What is mental health? The answer is your emotional, social well-being or how you deal with stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, etc. Having good mental health is all about taking care of yourself. You would want to get as much rest as possible and have an excellent, optimistic point of view in life. However, when you tend to keep everything to yourself all the time, eventually, you begin to feel dead to the point where nothing makes you feel happy. That is an example of bad mental health and well-being.
What does mental health mean to you? For me, good mental health means I can control my emotions, stress, feelings, etc. Mental health is something we prioritize in our life as a key to living a happy and healthy life. Good mental health also means being aware of yourself and your surroundings. You should help yourself maintain the dream lifestyle you crave and help others in need. Most importantly, you want your mind to be in a positive state. How do you manage your mental health? Everyone has their own way of curing their problems. I handle my mental health with two things. Firstly, music, music is something I use to clear out my mind. All I do is put on my earbuds, sit back, and relax to the sound. Lastly, playing basketball, basketball is the sport I dedicate my time to. In simple terms, it is my favourite sport. Whenever I’m playing basketball, anything I’m worried or thinking about goes away. It clears out my mind, plus it is also enjoyable -V. Malhotra (Gr 8) I've struggled a lot throughout high school, not necessarily with others but myself. I've gone from eating too much to eating too little, sleeping 16 hours to barely 5, and found coping mechanisms that did not only hurt myself but others as well. I thought extensively about a world where I didn’t exist. I've grown a lot now and rejected help and support, a lot, but have realized that counseling and therapy isn’t corny and boring like I thought it was, the deep breaths and five fingers thing isn't THAT useless, and you can lie to everybody else about how you're feeling but the least you can do is be honest with yourself. I'm on medication now, which in my mind was the worst-case scenario because it was like putting my issues on display and making them real. I couldn't go five minutes without my Airpods in because I knew the moment I took them out, the voices in my head were so loud they would probably win, or when I went to New York with my mom and should have enjoyed my trip, I zoned out and didn’t feel anything. My parents finally support me now and have accepted that their happy girl wasn't as happy as everyone thought.
Even though the whole journey feels like a big loss, I think I won. -V. Askounis (Gr 12) |