I met with Shawn Levstek on the morning of May 24th. This was our first meeting and after receipt of some unpleasant news I found it was necessary to speak with a health professional who might better shed light on an otherwise unfortunate situation. I opened up about what I had been experiencing my first year as a pharmacy student. I learned that what I am suffering from is adjustment disorder. Adjustment Disorder, sometimes called situational depression, occurs when an individual is unable to adjust or cope with a particular stress or a major life event. My major life event of course was moving to Columbus to partake in one of the most challenging academic curriculums. It wasn’t the difficulty of my classes that led to my rapid decline in academic performance as it was more so the rise of stress coupled with my …show more content…
The only person I could count on was my grandfather. He always made it a point to say tears didn’t mean anything; that crying was for the week. And so I became a tough cookie early on. Besides him, I have had to rely on myself and be there for myself; and that meant difficulty in terms of letting people in. I took what my grandfather told me and applied it to other aspects of my life as well. I never liked to be in a vulnerable place because of the possibility of an emotional breakdown. Initially, I think this guard or tough exterior I created helped me to become the person I am today in a good way. It shielded me from hurt and helped to build my confidence in a way that I am proud of. My whole life I’ve been strong, but it has come to a point where that has stopped working in my