Breaking up with my psychiatrist
I have never dealt well with change. My usual response to change is to curl into a ball and cease to function until I finally get used to my new reality.
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Change runs on Berkeley Time
Bear in Mind
The looming giant of bureaucracy stands in the way of achieving the smallest of goals, whether it be a link on CalCentral or a few sentences on a syllabus.
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Time loss
Bear in Mind
My bed and I have a complicated, toxic love-hate relationship. Mental illness is exhausting and causes me to sleep a lot.
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‘Not sick enough’
Bear in Mind
While my therapist has me rate how I’m feeling on a 1-10 scale each week, there isn’t actually a definitive way to “rank” my mental illness and its severity. Illnesses are relative; what is “severe” for one person is functional for another. Both deserve to receive as much treatment as they need.
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A lesson in accommodations
Bear in Mind
Access to accommodations is the sole reason I am able to remain in school while severely depressed. My accommodations don’t give me a leg up over my peers; they put us on an even playing ground.
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Dear therapy, we have our ups and downs, but I love you
I know we’ve had a rocky relationship in the past, but I wanted to write to say how much I’ve grown to love you.
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It doesn’t get better (and then, it does)
Bear in Mind
I have received a plentitude of terrible advice in my time as a Chronically Mentally Ill Person. One of my favorite (not at all appreciated) pieces of advice (that is not at all advice) is “It gets better!”
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Depression hurts
Bear in Mind
It can be easier to confront how we physically feel than to confront how we emotionally feel.
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The lonely generation
Bear in Mind
Despite being surrounded by people in class, at work and in clubs, I constantly feel utterly isolated, completely alone.
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Accessibility is a right, not a privilege
Bear in Mind
Out of sheer luck, I am equipped to tackle my mental illnesses in ways many others don’t have the privilege to, because of issues like accessibility, economic inequality and outside support.
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