Learn 2 Listen

This is a story of a family member of mine. It's a roller coaster ride and journey. He grew up with both parents, mom was a stay-at-home mom and dad was the provider for the family, yes his dad was strict and mom was lenient. They weren't rich but they didn't need anything, but that all changed when his father was deported back to Belize. He was 11 years old and hurt. So he kept playing football and going to school as his dad wished. Times got really hard and his mom later met someone new and had two more children, 5 boys altogether. But his mom was also being beaten up by the new guy. Years down the line his mom got up enough courage to move on from the abuse, but my family member never let it go. It really hurt and angered him to see his mom being treated this way. His dad never did these things to his mom. My family member ended up graduating high school with a scholarship to play football, he ended up having two beautiful daughters but made a mistake later on down the l...

Growing up in a stereotypical suburb with the most amazing family, I was very protected. I never felt any type of intense emotions of sadness or hopelessness, and I thought that was just how life was supposed to be: involving no emotion besides happiness. I would always see quotes saying how it’s okay to not be okay or all emotions are valid, and although they made logical sense, I couldn’t relate because I never saw a reason in life to be sad for no reason. I would hear about depression and anxiety and feel bad for those people, but I really could not truly understand what made people feel this way if there was no direct cause. My “perfect” life really bounded me to see only one way of living which I thought was the norm. I was a competitive swimmer, I excelled in school, I had great friends and family, so I didn’t really think I was permitted to feel sad or depressed since I had this incredible life. Fall of 2017, I began my freshman year at The University of Notre Dame. This has bee...

Monica Mesecar is currently a Notre Dame senior in the class of 2021 from Indiana who will graduate with her bachelor's in Neuroscience and Behavior with a minor in compassionate care in medicine. She lives in Ryan Hall, where she serves as a senior fellow. While at Notre Dame, Monica has been on the yearbook committee, served on the neuroscience senior leadership committee, and as the social media liaison. She is also a founder and member of ND's Access-able club, designed to educate, advocate, and build a community for students with disabilities. Monica is dedicated to the healthcare field and projects working in research before attending medical school. Join us as Monica discusses what drew her to neuroscience, the pressures of collegiate life, the intricacies of the COVID-19 pandemic as a student, and her experience as a student with disabilities. Monica shares and educates us all about her story with grace, honesty, and maturity at unmatched levels. Listen on Spotify Liste...

Hello, let me start off by introducing myself so you can get to know me before you read about my story. My name is Sydnee, I’m originally from Vancouver, BC, but have moved to Edmonton to better my mental health and have a better living environment overall. You may be questioning this… Edmonton, AB, the place where it's flat and is always cold. Yes, I have found a better support group/ family support here and the living expenses have provided me with a better environment and leave me with more savings in my pocket at the end of the day. Vancouver is beautiful and I recommend anyone I meet to go there, but the downfall is how expensive it can and especially for a single individual in their 20’s… I created ‘the sociable’ as my way of helping others heal their mental health or even although to feel like they aren’t alone because we’ve all experienced mental health in our own way and it's very important to continue bringing more awareness to this. I want to share my story, let alon...

Age 2 was the first time I exhibited signs of what would eventually be diagnosed as Trichotillomania (A hair pulling obsessive-compulsive disorder). Only I predominantly just pulled from my eyelashes. It was a condition nobody understood but one that I learned to accept as years went by. At age 5 my parents separated & my mum began a relationship with a man who we quickly discovered was a violent, abusive alcoholic. Horrific abuse ensued & that’s when I started showing signs of another condition called Dermatillomania (A skin picking obsessive-compulsive disorder). I was pretty withdrawn growing up but hid what was going on behind closed doors exceptionally well. Aged 14 we finally were able to break free from the environment we were in & I lead what I’d call a fairly normal life until I reached age 20 & my mum passed away. This began a dark spiral of events. Suddenly everything I had kept secret from my childhood came flooding back & I felt feelings I had never exp...

Brianna Leverenz is a former swimmer for The University of Tennessee Knoxville where she graduated with a degree in kinesiology in 2019. While at school, Brianna was extremely involved in sports philanthropy where she spent 3 months in the Philippines teaching children how to swim. Brianna and Mariah met through their mutual interest in sports philanthropy as Brianna continues to serve and inspire those around her. She now works for Stanford as a clinical researcher to fulfill her amazing and demanding work. schedule. Join us as we chat about Brianna's journey during her four years as a student, athlete, and leader. She bravely and honestly shares her vulnerabilities and advice with us as well as some female empowerment! Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcast

  Hi my name is Bethan I’m 21 from Chester and I’m the founder and owner of Brave Beauty! I'm willing to share a little brief story about myself and some experiences I’ve had as a reminder that help is out there and ‘it’s ok not to be ok' and accept help. I have been living with mental health issues myself for about 5 years but I have only been receiving professional help the last year and a half. It took 4 long years for me to realize something was wrong as I was always the giver, the people pleaser, the one that makes everybody laugh which makes me happy. I started to realize it was less and less easy to stay happy and a lot easier to be sad all the time. I was frustrated I couldn’t work out why I was feeling this way and I felt silly talking about it as people would say “what do you have to be sad about”, “you’re never like this”, “come on cheer up” just like it was that easy... I had a lot of past relationship issues with my child’s father which I won't go into detail a...