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Miss out on ball tickets ??? Our FINAL release is live this Sunday at 6pm!!!! Set your alarms y’all cos these have been selling quick 🥳👀‼️ Head to: utsocballnightonther-event.getqpay.com once they are live 🥳
TW: anxiety “Most people know that I am more than not, an optimist. My resilience is my best trait and admittedly one I rely on often. But I’m also a perfectionist and a control freak who struggles regularly with anxiety. It affects me both physically and mentally and is something I am open about seeking help with. One thing I have learnt along the way is that there is no shame in working towards growth and healing. It’s not a linear process nor does it happen overnight. The road to recovery is paved with many dips and loops that might often feel or look like a failure but no two steps backwards will discount the many leaps you’ve silently made forward. If anyone else has dealt or is dealing with the same thing, I’m proud of you. The more that we are honest with each other and the more that we accept people where they are and how they are, with more kindness and understanding, the easier it will be to remove the stigma surrounding mental health.” #smashthestigma @batyruts 📸: Aaron Liu @aaronliiuu P.S. If you’re interested in sharing your story to #smashthestigma, just email socialjustice@utsoc.com.au - if you’re uncomfrtable with sharing your identity, it can be anonymous too.
Have uni this arvo? Why don’t you stick around and join us and @utsjournalism for our Job Truth Series: Journalism panel! We’ve got an unreal lineup and food graciously provided by @activate_social! 🥰🥰😍😍 Panelists featured: -Lisa Muxworthy -Justin Stevens -Yoni Bashan -Jessica Wang -Tess Connery -Sam Langford Join us in CB.07.03.10B @6pm
I moved away from home at the start of last year for study. During my time away, I experienced a whole range of emotions which I never thought I’d feel. I’ve always been one to take on a challenge, so I decided to move away not knowing anyone, renting in student accommodation and trying to find what I really wanted in life, all at the tender age of nineteen. As the months went on, I was attending university, working a part time job and going out on the town with new people I’d just met. I thought it was going quite well until I began to feel the pressures were mounting. It was almost as if I had no control over how I felt about these pressures, something I’d never experienced before. About half way through the semester, I started to miss classes, shy away from social settings and felt that all I wanted was to go home where everything was well as I remembered it.  Over the next two months, I decided I’d retreat home at the end of the semester and continue uni in Sydney, thinking to myself all the way that I’d be on top of the world mentally once I did. When I returned home, I clicked back into motion, working part time and attending university. Within two weeks, I’d stopped going to classes again and I genuinely felt terrible. I couldn’t understand why I felt this way after coming home and having barely any life stresses, I should’ve been having the time of my life. Over those next few months, I spiralled down into what I’d have to call one of the darkest corners of my mind. I couldn’t seem to find a way out of this hole I’d found myself in, it was like there was no way out. There is genuinely no way to describe what my thought process was at that time or why I couldn’t just snap out of it. It was like the world was crushing in on me. Was it because I’d failed in my venture to go it alone from home? I think it definitely sparked it. I accepted that I had depression and had to get help. It was a long process and now I’m here, studying my dream degree of Journalism once again at UTS and going strong.  I still have these feelings, but I now know how to manage them and if things get really bad, I know where to go for help. (cont'd in comments)
TW: anxiety “Anxiety is a finicky thing, some days I’m soaring, outgoing and confident, the next I’m stuck to my bedroom not wanting to ever leave my house. I can’t even pinpoint when it started, I’m sure it was a domino effect, one small thing after another led to breakdown after breakdown. Tears over assessments in high school, tears over home issues, tears over eating and tears over loss. Anxiety can have a variety of names; general anxiety disorder, adjustment disorder, social anxiety, panic disorder the list goes on but for me regardless of the name it’s the feeling. Tightness in my chest, shortness of breath, ringing in my ears, tears without sounds. All of these symptoms, feelings, emotions are a part of me now. But you know what? Since being diagnosed with anxiety 5 years ago those days in my bedroom are fewer and my ways of coping and managing are growing and growing. I think the biggest thing when it comes to mental illness is not just your close support network but the medical support you can get. I’ve been seeing a psychologist regularly for the past 5 years through the mental health care plan. Finding someone you gel with is the hardest part, but once you’ve found them, they can help you understand, vent and grow. For me, getting professional help has helped keep my anxiety at bay and allowed me to speak more openly about what I’m suffering with behind closed doors. Speak up, reach out and if it means getting a friend to hold your hand while you make your first appointment so be it, I’ll happily hold anyone’s hand.” #smashthestigma @batyruts 📸: Aaron Liu @aaronliiuu P.S. If you’re interested in sharing your story to #smashthestigma, just email to socialjustice@utsoc.com.au - it can be anonymous too!
TW: PTSD, domestic abuse “I have had post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, since at least my adolescence. I grew up with an extremely abusive, violent father, and I left home at 16. It’s hard sometimes to know when the trauma stopped and when PTSD took its place because I also experienced difficulty leaving home so young. Every person has different symptoms, but for me PTSD manifests in flashbacks, panic attacks, dissociative episodes and occasionally night terrors. I also struggle to remember large chunks of childhood and early adolescence because the trauma was so sustained. For a few years I just drifted between different counsellors and psychologists, and no one really seemed to be able to help me reduce the symptoms. Eventually, I started seeing a new GP who referred me to a psychologist that actually specialised in PTSD. The type of therapy changed completely, and focussed more on addressing past trauma head on and also practising yoga and meditation. At first, this was overwhelming, painful and my symptoms actually got worse. After a few months, my symptoms were manageable, and these days I’m a lot more in control of my headspace. Therapy is critical, but I couldn’t have recovered so strongly if I didn’t have family and friends that believed in me even when I was pushing them away. When it comes to mental health: two steps forward one step backward is a hell of a lot better than standing still.” #smashthestigma @batyruts 📸: Aaron Liu @aaronliiuu
TW: anxiety “I have always had anxious tendencies, but when I was in primary school, my parents started taking me to a psychologist as I struggled to deal with certain thoughts. After a while I started to feel a lot better within myself, and could cope with my emotions much better, so I stopped going. But once I started high school, I found that my anxious tendencies became unbearable, as just like many teenagers I struggled to feel a sense of belonging amongst my peers, and I also hated the way I looked. My parents saw I was struggling and started taking me back to the psychologist. Although it was tough at first, he really helped me see my self worth. Even though there are still days where I struggle, I know that I am strong enough to overcome whatever it is I might be facing. I am so lucky that I have such a supportive family and friends, that despite facing their own demons and mental health issues, they have helped me through tough times. No matter how alone you may feel there is always someone there for you too. Whether it be a psychologist, your neighbour, or even your dog. You are loved; you are strong; and you can beat the demons!” #smashthestigma @batyruts 📸: Aaron Liu @aaronliiuu
Story #1 - Melanie Wong TW: depression, anxiety “I think it first started when I was 15. It’s weird, because I remember that as being one of the most fun years of high school, but I guess it was different at the time. There were a lot of moments where it felt like I was feeling too much, overflowing, and I turned to some pretty unhealthy ways to cope. It got worse through high school until Year 12. It’s something I regret and am still trying to work through but I was treating myself pretty badly. I was helping one of my friends through a tough time, but it meant that I put myself second and my mental health definitely suffered for it. It was really hard telling people. It still is - I think I’ve only told a handful of people to date, less than 10 people definitely. Some of the people I love most in my life don’t know about what I struggle through on a daily basis. My family don’t know. Some of my best friends don’t know. But I’m tackling it day by day. It’s definitely gotten better since high school. I started seeing a therapist last year. I started taking medication in March. When the days get too bad I write them out in poems or stories, or lie in bed with headphones on, or sit at the piano and play until it’s less bad. There are still ups and downs - some days, my social anxiety crawls across my shoulder blades and sitting on the train is hard; other days, the depression hits so hard that I can’t move, that there feels like a hollow space under my chest, that people notice and ask what’s wrong, which is equal parts terrifying and relieving. Taking action to deal with it meant that I had to acknowledge that there was something wrong in the first place. But it’s still better than it used to be. I have an army of support and love around me. I’m trying really, really hard to put myself first. So that’s a start.” #smashthestigma @batyruts 📸 : Aaron Liu @aaronliiuu

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