I’ve felt called to a role as a mental health practitioner at least since my freshman year of high school. Mental illness and mental health have played a significant role in my developing identity as a person and future professional. When I was 12 years old, my father was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder. It was both comforting and terrifying, as a child, to have a name for what my father was experiencing and what was contributing to the mood instability that had suddenly begun causing our family so much distress. Comforting, because it meant there was a way to help him feel better. Terrifying, because he wanted nothing to do with therapy, medication, or any other kind of treatment, and I learned to walk on eggshells around his moods. I always wondered if, had he had a name for his experience and the right support to learn to navigate it from an earlier age, I might have gotten to keep my father in my life. I have also struggled with my own mental health throughout the course of my adolescence and young adulthood. I have lived with anxiety since childhood. Approximately a year and a half ago, in the most severe stages of the pandemic, I moved across the country with my partner to pursue our graduate education and subsequently experienced my rock bottom. I grew up in a household which emphasized practicing mindfulness, caring for one's mental state, and finding support in a neutral therapeutic setting. Despite all the resources and coping skills I had, I was ill-equipped to handle the debilitating panic attacks and accompanying depressive state I began to experience upon leaving my home and the support system I had come to rely on more heavily than I even recognized. It took months of intensive therapy to achieve equilibrium again. Had I not sought help, I don't believe I would still be here. Aside from the individual ways in which my lived experience has been impacted by mental illness, as have so many of ours, the development of my generation has borne witness to our nation’s evolving understanding of mental health as it is influenced by biopsychosocial factors. Much of this progress was made with the world watching, and too much of it was informed by nationwide, intergenerational trauma. The world I’ve known has been inundated with violence. Relatively isolated instances such as the tragedy of 9/11, widespread ripples of events like the 270 mass shootings we’ve seen just since 2009, the rampant systemic oppression of racial minorities at the hands of lawmakers and enforcers; these are events which, when linked and examined, point to root causes such as deep-seated socio-cultural injustices and policies founded by a nation built to serve only specific members of our society. Despite all we’ve lived through and fought against, it feels like very little has changed, and very few of us have healed. In the new age where working from home is commonplace, so many of us have been carrying the weight of these stressors in isolation. I was blessed to be raised by a woman who above all else, taught me to take my own mental health needs seriously, and without the support I have had, I would not have been able to pursue a master's degree that will enable me to attain therapeutic licensure. All I want is to join the ranks of those who want the same for every person on this earth and to help as many people as I can to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma. Each day I am one step closer.

Within the past two years, I finally decided to pursue a hobby I'd lost touch with almost a decade ago: horseback riding. Growing up, I was fascinated by horses and equestrians; I dreamed of one day soaring over meter-high jumps on a beautiful creature of my own. The reality was, my parents were in no position to fund such a dream. That was okay with me, because they did their best to find a way to consistently give me at least a little time around horses. My love for horses only grew with time, and I began to dream of a career that might integrate that love with my passion for mental health as a clinician certified to offer equine-assisted psychotherapy. In 2020, having just graduated with my bachelor's degree, I found myself living in a new state, with an almost-full-time job and the ability to finally pay for lessons for myself. For the next year and a half, I made the once-a-week drive to a barn just across town. I'll never forget the weightlessness, joy, and power I felt the first time I successfully made it over a jump that was more than a few inches off the ground. The horse I rode, named Rascal, began to recognize me from all the way across the field. Eventually, though, I had to once again say goodbye to my equestrian dreams, when I decided it was time to pursue my graduate education and, eventually, the career of my dreams. Graduate school, being as costly as it is, meant that I no longer felt I could justify the expense of even one half-hour lesson a week. The loss of those weekly adventures with Rascal is felt deeply, and I would do anything to be able to continue developing my skills as an equestrian while pursing my graduate degree and eventual mental health practitioners' license so that one day, I can share the magic and healing of horses with my own clients.

One of the largest barriers to mental health care is the lack of consistent and comprehensive education on how to recognize the signs and symptoms of struggle. While it is becoming more and more normalized to seek treatment for mental health struggles, this does not account for everyone who may be in need of help. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), nearly one in five adults, roughly 53 million people, in the United States experienced mental illness in 2020. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, however, only an estimated 41 million adults sought inpatient or outpatient mental health treatment in the U.S. In 2020. These numbers leave at least 12 million people among those who were unable to find help. One of the most straightforward solutions to this issue is to take some of the responsibility off of individuals themselves to recognize when they may benefit from mental health treatment, and this is achievable by encouraging primary care physicians to conduct more thorough screening for mental health issues at regular medical appointments. In recent years, there has been a shift towards emphasis of a holistic approach to healthcare that acknowledges the influence mental health has on physical wellness, but it has not yet become the standard. Research demonstrates that screening for signs of mental distress in primary care settings can help reduce costs and incidence of mental health crises, and would allow people the opportunity to be referred directly to appropriate mental health resources they may otherwise lack the knowledge or support to access. Sources: https://www.nami.org/mhstats https://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/press-announcements/202110260320 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5834951/

The most valuable thing a person can offer to someone who's struggling is a safe space to openly express themselves, and to have their feelings honored and respected. This is not just something I believe in an abstract sense, but is something I put into practice as I move throughout life. Being a human is difficult, and this has been especially true over the past two years, and the most valuable lesson I've learned is that the best thing I can do to help others is to listen, with a welcoming heart, and to make sure they recognize that they aren't alone. I may not always have a solution, but there is incredible value in feeling supported. Often that's all a person needs. According to Mental Health America, approximately 47 million Americans are currently dealing with a mental health condition. I have always been passionate about mental health, from the time I was in high school right up to now as I pursue a graduate-level degree, and it seems that people are in need of that safe space more now than ever. I am currently enrolled in the University of Central Florida School of Social Work pursuing my master's degree, with the dream of continuing to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and therefore able to practice therapy. I am so excited to make that dream a reality.