“Sometimes when you’re depressed, the things you don’t want to do are the very things you need to do in order to feel better,” my therapist told me. Great, I thought, for just once could there be an easy answer? “As you start doing things, it gets easier,” she continued, “and you begin to have […]
The first time I brought up suicide to anyone, I felt scared. I was confused and concerned about what they would think. I had never even thought about reaching out to someone to tell them what I was thinking until that point, and instead I questioned everything that went through my mind. “Does it even […]
The news spread like wildfire: there was a dead body on campus. For hours, students were scrambling for information. Who, how, when, why? Rumors were flying with misinformation and stories. The school was quick to email everyone with a vague description and a promise that as information came and was appropriate for the public, we […]
Second semester of my freshman year of college, the counseling center sent a friend of mine to the hospital. The counselor was concerned that she was suicidal and both she and my friend thought it best that she sought outside treatment. While the choice was difficult, it was in the best interest of her safety […]
Hi! My name is Lizzie Bayles, I am 22 years old, from Athens, Georgia, and currently in school for my social work degree, eventually graduating with my Masters in clinical social work. Some of my hobbies and interests include dance, reading, journaling, painting/crafting, calligraphy, and anything outside, especially hiking. I also love coffee and spending […]
I was 15 years old when I took action to help prevent one of my close friends from taking her own life. When you’re close friends with a person there is often strong mutual trust between the two of you. You’re expected to keep each other’s secrets no matter what, but I learned that sometimes […]
“So, what now?” my therapist asks expectedly. “I don’t know; I wasn’t planning on still being alive right now,” I respond, fidgeting in my seat. I left my therapist’s office a little over two weeks prior to this session with a plan. I had just turned 25 and I felt completely defeated, like my mental […]
In my room, if you’re sad, we sit on you. My roommates are my family. We’ve seen each other through some tough stuff. The solution in our room is to get all of the pillows and blankets and stuffed animals and put them on top of the unhappy individual. If that doesn’t seem like enough, […]
For 180 days out of the year we were together in a high school classroom full of 30 to 50 other kids. Each day I walked into your class with a smile on my face, wondering what today had in store for me. Each day you stood in front of the class and shared your […]