Psychology & Me
- Riley C.
- Dec 30, 2020
- 2 min read
Everyone has a story of how they found their passion. Here is mine...
When you're young, people always ask,
"what do you want to be when you grow up?"
Some children figure this out at a very young age. Others, like me, go on this rollercoaster of knowing and not knowing or from:
"yeah this job sounds good and pays a lot of money" to "nahh, this one pays WAY more so I'll do that."
But in the end, I believe that the cliché of "money won't make you happy" is true. Over the years, I went from wanting to be a teacher to a lawyer to a news anchor to a trauma nurse to a physical therapist. It wasn't until I began to struggle with my own mental health that I discovered my love for psychology.
My mental health really began going downhill during my freshman year of high school. Because my previous attempts to try to explain to my mom that I needed help failed, I did what all Gen Zers do: turn to the internet. I found myself in this wormhole of identifying my with the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder as well as reading about different anxiety disorders and mood disorder. It fascinated me while validating my feelings.
It wasn't until my junior year of high school that I began to see a therapist regularly for my anxiety and depression. The more comfortable I got with going to therapy, learning how to express myself and what I was going through, and working through my issues that I began to realize that this was exactly what I wanted to do. I want to help others like me; those who grow up in a family that doesn't understand mental health but longs for help and someone to listen.
Now, I am a junior in college studying psychology. The more classes I take and people I talk to who have a career in the field, the more it affirms my love and passion for psychology. I have so many dreams and goals of how I want to use this knowledge to help others. Having depression and anxiety has made my life so difficult, but with the help of my amazing therapist over the years, I now have the tools to help me through those deep, dark moments. Is it easy? Absolutely not. Having mental illnesses can be extremely draining most of the time; but, it's my dreams and goals of helping others and living the life I have longed for that helps to motivate me.
Psychology has saved my life over and over again, and I know that it will continue to do that. If I can utilize what I have learned to help others, then that, to me, is ultimate success.
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