Mental Health Education Annual Scholarship

This academic essay deals with the best treatment option for those struggling with a mental illness, more specifically it deals with parental mental illnesses and how it should involve their children, if any.

My essay describes the differences of Western medicine vs Eastern medicine and the approaches to mental health treatment.

This essay is an overview of my story and why I want to pursue a career as Mental Health Counselor

Mental illness is diminishing our teenagers future. We need to have more resource for them to access, so that they have more options Most of the times the main problem is that they don't know how to ask for help. We need to be able to see the signs in teens behaviors, so we can offer help before it's too late.

Comparing the feeling of Bipolar 1 to climbing Mt. Everest.

Addressing the lack of mental health services in the United States and how hard it is for people to access them.

a brief history of my life with depression and anxiety and how to overcome it

Mental health has no boundaries across social class, gender or lifestyle. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life. In my formative years, my mom was often told that I was prodigy child with special gifts. Somehow no one noticed that I was incapable of sitting still and that my learning style was different than most. Not only did I have a speech impediment, but I had ADHD. It was not diagnosed until middle school, at which time, a teacher told my mother that I had mental health issues. My mother refused to believe that her “prodigy child“ could possibly have something “” wrong“ with him. I excelled at everything academic. In high school, I lead the speech and debate team and won awards for the modern United Nations club. I even gave the closing commencement speech at my high school graduation. It wasn’t until my senior year in college, that my life became unbearable. I earned a bachelors in science degree in psychology and went on to become a behavioral therapist, where I worked with autistic children. I was a research assistant studying traumatic brain injuries at Saint Jude‘s. I started a support group for undergrad students with stuttering challenges. However, when the monster within crawled out the latter part of my senior year, I knew I could no longer tame it. I managed to graduate. That summer, my life spiraled without control of my thoughts and emotions. I ended up hospitalized and in day treatment for one year. It was through God’s grace and the support of my family that I am now enrolled in graduate school at USC pursuing a degree in social work with emphasis on mental health. It is my desire to advocate for young men who may be struggling with mental health disorders, yet too proud to seek early treatment. I almost became homeless because of my disorder and I would hate for another young person to experience the monster within. My goal is to earn a LCSW and Provide much-needed services to youth and families. The cost of graduate school is high and the need for financial assistance is great. I am however, very hopeful that with continued treatment and therapy the monster within, will remain tamed as I continue to strive to increase awareness and dispel stigma surrounding mental illness.

Traditions from Eastern medicine and innovations from modern Western medicine can be combined to create a holistic program for sustaining mental health. Pharmaceutical drugs can be a necessary part of mental health care, and it is equally if not more important to make lifestyle changes around diet and exercise. Eastern traditions of meditation and mindfulness can be an integral part of holistic care. Our society has the responsibility to care for the health of all of its members; we all benefit from taking care of each other.

A reflection of mental health during the Covid 19 pandemic as individuals were reminded how fragile life is and like in a garden - life finds it's way.

My essay will entail my persepctive of watching my mother struggle with mental health and how a higher education will benefit me.

My personal experience with mental health issues has given me a unique perspective on the mental health field and inspired me to positively contribute to it. In this essay, I share my struggles and the impact they've had on me and my life goals.