Mia was in her first year of college when she went from being a high functioning, straight-A student to being in a catatonic state. She experienced obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) behaviors that kept her trapped in her room for days on end with little food or water.
Thanks to you and your support, when Mia reached out for help, she got the mental health care she so desperately needed. She was able to address her childhood trauma and learn healthy ways to cope with stress and depression.
Mia grew up the seventh of ten children, home schooled, and with very little exposure to the outside world. She was subjected to psychological and sexual trauma, and she learned to survive by disassociating and going inside herself.
By the time she made it to college, Mia was experiencing depression, extreme vigilance, anxiety, OCD behaviors, and isolation. She had difficulty trusting others and frequently relived her childhood trauma.
In therapy, Mia learned healthy ways to manage her depression and respond to stress. She replaced old ways of coping, such as OCD behaviors, with healthy new skills, such as grounding, relaxation, breathwork and self-regeneration techniques. Most importantly, she learned to love herself.
Mia completed her second year of college with honors and moved cross-country for a new start in life. She is pursuing a phlebotomy program with the goal of becoming a pharmacist.
Thanks to you, Mia is now looking forward to creating a “fulfilling life, worth loving.”
Thank you for providing life-saving mental health care to Mia — and to so many other youth in our community like her. A lifelong gift indeed!