Contributing Columnist: +Jen Stone
For most, the prognosis after a mental health diagnosis appears slim. The phrase “mental health illness” seems to come with a huge black cloud. News flash: it doesn’t have to.
Look at Michael Kearney. He is a 29-year-old accomplished professor who graduated college at the age of ten and received his master’s degree in biochemistry at age fourteen. He did all this after being told he has severe Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). While I do not expect everyone to become a child prodigy after being diagnosed with a behavioral or mental disorder, I do hope that we can look at Michael’s story and see that there are possibilities other than failure.
Something that I’ve noticed in my short life is that one failure can derail us as it undermines our confidence and sets up to believe that all we will ever encounter is failure. It is this attitude, more than anything that fuels the cycle of failure to occur. What would happen if we looked at a failure not as the beginning of a series of challenges, but the end of a difficult time? If it is the end, then the next thing to come must be better.
With any type of health issue, there are always additional obstacles to overcome. If one prepares for these obstacles before they derail us, then they become points to build off from instead of points of debilitation. For instance, an incoming college student with ADHD can expect it to take him three times as long to study for something compared to someone without ADHD. By implementing an early study plan a few weeks prior to an exam, a once daunting exam becomes manageable. No longer does this student have to view ADHD as an impossible challenge, but more as a catapult for creating great study habits and life-skills.
Organization, preparation, and realistic goals seem to be the base for success for anyone, but especially when combating additional obstacles such as ADHD. Success doesn’t have to be an ideal; it can be a reality.
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Jen Stone was born in the city of Chicago and attended college at Brown University where she concentrated in Human Biology. Upon graduation, Jen embarked on her Masters degree in Medical Sciences at Loyola University Chicago. Between graduate school, working at a free clinic on the west side, and teaching health education classes at the Lincoln Park Community Shelter—Jen found her niche and built upon her interest of helping the underserved. After graduating in May 2012 with her Master of Arts degree, she began working as a clinical research assistant in orthopedic surgery. Jen will be attending medical school beginning in August 2013, and plans to specialize in emergency medicine.
Look at Michael Kearney. He is a 29-year-old accomplished professor who graduated college at the age of ten and received his master’s degree in biochemistry at age fourteen. He did all this after being told he has severe Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). While I do not expect everyone to become a child prodigy after being diagnosed with a behavioral or mental disorder, I do hope that we can look at Michael’s story and see that there are possibilities other than failure.
Something that I’ve noticed in my short life is that one failure can derail us as it undermines our confidence and sets up to believe that all we will ever encounter is failure. It is this attitude, more than anything that fuels the cycle of failure to occur. What would happen if we looked at a failure not as the beginning of a series of challenges, but the end of a difficult time? If it is the end, then the next thing to come must be better.
With any type of health issue, there are always additional obstacles to overcome. If one prepares for these obstacles before they derail us, then they become points to build off from instead of points of debilitation. For instance, an incoming college student with ADHD can expect it to take him three times as long to study for something compared to someone without ADHD. By implementing an early study plan a few weeks prior to an exam, a once daunting exam becomes manageable. No longer does this student have to view ADHD as an impossible challenge, but more as a catapult for creating great study habits and life-skills.
Organization, preparation, and realistic goals seem to be the base for success for anyone, but especially when combating additional obstacles such as ADHD. Success doesn’t have to be an ideal; it can be a reality.
++
Jen Stone was born in the city of Chicago and attended college at Brown University where she concentrated in Human Biology. Upon graduation, Jen embarked on her Masters degree in Medical Sciences at Loyola University Chicago. Between graduate school, working at a free clinic on the west side, and teaching health education classes at the Lincoln Park Community Shelter—Jen found her niche and built upon her interest of helping the underserved. After graduating in May 2012 with her Master of Arts degree, she began working as a clinical research assistant in orthopedic surgery. Jen will be attending medical school beginning in August 2013, and plans to specialize in emergency medicine.
