By Casey Niebuhr | gargoyle@flagler.edu The past few weeks have been unbearably long. Lately I’ve been experiencing an overwhelming amount of dread, coupled with an increasing immobilization from depression and post-traumatic stress. I’ve fallen behind in my work, I’ve hardly eaten, I’ve been severely dehydrated, and…
By Erica Deditch| gargoyle@flagler.edu I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety for most of my life. It makes me terrified of everything. I mean, literally everything – talking to people, leaving my house, going out. Everything. Going to college didn’t help. For me personally, college only made it…
By Ally Wall | gargoyle@flagler.edu For most college students, social media is everywhere. There is no escape, and the endless scrolling is suffocating. Anxiety and depression have become the leeches of happiness; social media is sucking the authenticity of life out of its users. LED screens and artificial…
By Emily Topper | gargoyle@flagler.edu I was in first grade when I got my first bad mark on a report card. It wasn’t even a grade—just that I needed to improve on following the lines when I used scissors. I distinctly remember the shame and…
By Heather Seidel | gargoyle@flagler.edu When the news of Robin Williams’ death became public, his depression and consequent suicide became sensationalized by the media. The scariest part about Williams’ death is that we didn’t see it coming. In 2011, the American College Health Association administered a nationwide survey…
I stared into the darkness all night, waiting in a rental car outside a sterile, almost vacant building. Slumped over, restless, I couldn’t even guess what time of night it was, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep.
According to a recent Institute of Mental Health study, more than six percent of college students reported seriously considering suicide, with one percent of students reporting a suicide attempt in the previous year.
By Gena Anderson | ganderson@flagler.edu
Depression. The word itself has this impenetrable weight to it. Depression is something that happens to you, but we don’t look at it that way do we?
Depressed. We see it as an adjective. Mary Lou doesn’t “have depression;” she “is depressed.” By seeing it that way we remove the right of the afflicted to be afflicted, at least– I always did.
By Lauren Belcher | CBelcher@flagler.edu
Less than a year ago, I went on a journey.
It was five days of intense therapy called Hero’s Journey.
I was told to have someone drop me off at a hotel that was about 15 minutes away from my home in West Palm Beach. Pack five days worth of clothing and leave all electronics at home. No cell phone, no laptop. These days were to be spent with no distractions so you can only spend time with you and your thoughts.
By Lauren Belcher | CBelcher@flagler.edu
Webster’s dictionary defines a void as: not occupied; vacant; not inhabited; deserted; containing nothing. That sounds about right.
I define a void as: sadness; depression; loneliness; fear; defeat.
For as long as I can remember, I have tried to fill the void. I’m always trying to keep myself distracted so I won’t feel like I’m alone.