“You aren’t thin enough.” I snuck past my sleeping parents into their bathroom which contained the only scale in the house. These next...

My eyes fly open. I quickly assess my situation: the edge of the cliff fading above, the end of my fall lost in the fog below....

PA school... 27 months of lectures, labs, simulations, learning 85 didactic exams 11 clinical rotations 7 EOR exams 73,782 patients...

Dedicated to Shari, the most joyful soul I had the pleasure of knowing It is November, and I am nearing the end of my second and final year of PA school. And, to be honest, more than joy I feel relief. These past two years I have pushed myself to the breaking point and have finally reached burnout. For those of you who don’t know, burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by thr

Mental Illness. It reminds me of an ocean. It is vast and overwhelming, scientists are just now starting to explore the depths of all that it is and all that it contains. It is powerful, just as lapping waves slowly shape the shore, mental illness slowly changes who you are, how you think, and how you respond. Many have set out on the sea and lost their lives along the way, caught in the waves. It is deep, reaching thousands of miles, just as mental illness is deeply rooted i

My story begins in high school - feels like AGES ago but in reality it was only 4/5 years ago :) Honestly the beginnings of the illness crept up slowly and I didn't notice it was there until it had already embedded itself inside of my head. From what I remember though, my story begins fall of my junior year.... I was a varsity soccer player, involved in band (nerdy I know), and part of honors society. I had a great group of girl friends, I was in a healthy relationship, and w