Elijah W.

Photography by Savannah Mitchell

If you’re reading this you’re not alone.

Whenever I faced adversity, I would suppress my emotions thinking I could resolve these challenges on my own without pity from others. Over time, this became mentally draining to the point of realizing I couldn’t solve these struggles on my own. I ultimately acknowledged my true source of strength was my family. Although I have a difficult time communicating or asking for help, I knew deep down that I could always count on them. My mom in particular knows me better than anyone else, she could always tell when I was feeling sluggish and had this weight on my shoulders straining my day-to-day. I ended up leaning on her to talk things through and soon realized the importance of having a support network.

Even though it took some time, I finally felt comfortable approaching my mom with any and all thoughts I was having without the need to force myself to share them. This led to our family becoming better at sitting down and listening to one another. This grew increasingly important when one of my sisters began to struggle with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. 

My sister dealt with severe germophobia, that at any moment she felt soiled she would freeze or have an anxiety attack. It took my family by surprise, and no matter how much we reassured her or tried to reason with her, nothing would ease her fixation. This exacerbated our feeling of helplessness. There was one night in particular that I remember, where my sister was screaming and crying hysterically. I looked over at my parents, and all I saw were tears streaming down their faces. Their emotions were not caused by her hysteria, but from the inability to ease the pain of their daughter.

However, she was never alone. Her family was always here to support her no matter the situation. She began meeting with a psychiatrist on a regular basis, and through the process was able to work through her anxiety. Although she still deals with anxiety, she now also views her family as a support system.

Having these experiences with my sister made me feel motivated to always have an open ear to anyone that may need it. There are so many things in life that we can’t control, but what we can control is our compassion and empathy towards others. The COVID-19 pandemic has been especially hard and presented us with many different obstacles. Stress, anxiety, thoughts, and emotions have been heightened during this strange time. With that being said, there are people all around you that are going to help you get through whatever it is you are going through. You are not alone. 

Elijah W., Arizona State University ‘22

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