16
Feature
thursday, march 31, 2011
www.thegatewayonline.ca
Contemplating
The Gateway’s mental health series
B
eth is like any other student on campus, going to class and hanging out with her friends. She’s in her fifth year of her Secondary Education degree, specializing in English. But Beth (whose name has been changed to protect her identity) has struggled with bipolar disorder — something she’s had to deal with throughout her entire university career. She’s also attempted suicide when she was a teenager.
Written by Alexandria Eldridge, Simon Yackulic, and Ryan Bromsgrove
“I think the biggest thing I’ve come across at university is that it’s really hard to explain my disorder in such a way that I’m not stigmatized,” she says. “And the stigma that goes along with mental illness and with suicide is huge. And people feel as though they’re less of a person for admitting that they need help.” Bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic-depressive disorder, describes a mental condition where the chemicals in the brain that regulate emotion and feelings become imbalanced, causing significant changes in mood and energy. Sometimes Beth’s attitude is elevated, and she has hypomania, where she becomes extremely focused on one thing, while others get neglected. At other times, Beth’s mood will drop, putting her in a depressive state, which is when she’s most at risk for suicidal thoughts.
Illustrated by Anthony Goertz
“I get really focused on a project, and it isn’t necessarily schoolwork, and so I can’t concentrate. I think the biggest thing is in university, there’s been more pressure, and there isn’t as much leeway. And if I need to get that assignment done, it has to get done no matter how I’m feeling,” she says. But Beth is up front with her professors about her mental illness, and although she doesn’t usually open up to her fellow students, she believes suicide and mental illness is something we have to talk about as a society. “In order for me to be open about my mental illness, I need to have a community that understands what it really is and not the media stereotype version,” she says. “When people think of suicide attempts, they think about somebody with a gun against their