I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder around the age of thirteen. On top of this diagnosis, I was also struggling with depression that was previously diagnosed a couple of years before. As a young woman, having to deal with these mental illnesses has been hard. I was never able to socialize with people my own age correctly, and it made doing every day things such as after school sports, gym class, and even talking on the phone a difficult task.
I was very shy, and once I had to go off to college, I felt completely lost. I mean, I had to leave my home town where I had all my friends, and I had to start all over. To me, it was like something out of a nightmare. Now, granted I had my boyfriend since I decided to attend the same college as him, but I had no idea how I was going to make my own friends outside of him. Move in day was such a blur for me, there was so much stimulation and so many new people, I was kind of on auto pilot mode. Once my family left, I realized I was all alone. My boyfriend had his friends he hasn't seen all summer so I wasn't going to bug him, and my roommate...we just met so how the hell was I going to talk to her about my problems?
I decided I needed to figure out a solution to my anxiety and depression problems, because making friends at this point seemed impossible. Reading over the college handbook I came across this term called an "emotional support animal" or an ESA. This sparked my interest because my counselor previously mentioned it but I totally ignored his suggestion not realizing that all colleges had to allow it. Now, an emotional support animal is a companion animal that helps an individual deal with certain strains in their life such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, and many other mental illnesses. According to a quick google search, all landlords, colleges and airlines have to allow said people who own an ESA, have their companion with them to alleviate stress.
To me this seemed like an amazing idea. I contacted the college and they helped me through the process very quickly. I just had to get a letter from my counselor stating that my ESA would be beneficial to me in the dorms. Once I attained my letter and I was approved I was able to have my new little friend with me in the dorms. My mother bought me a puppy for this, and it has really helped me a lot. Believe it or not, having Tyrion (my dog) with me even helped me make friends. It was such a huge ice breaker, and I really don't know what I would have done without him. He calms me down during my anxiety attacks, and depression episodes as well. If you're someone who struggles with any mental illness, please don't let that hinder your ability to perform in college. I highly recommend getting an ESA. It changed my life.
