One student's fight for mental health awareness inspires a movement

Sarah Spitz arrived at Emory University in 2009 eager to find out what the next four years had in store. But as the readings piled up and her first test approached, the self-proclaimed perfectionist couldn’t handle the pressure.

Spitz struggled with depression and anxiety in high school and was hesitant to leave Emory to get help. When she did go home, she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

For Spitz, this marked the start of a battle to transform mental health awareness on college campuses nationwide.

“A lot of people feel like the diagnosis is a death sentence,” Spitz says. “I never really felt like that. Getting that diagnosis was kind of reassuring, knowing that there were other people like me and that I’m not the only one.”

Sarah Spitz with Active Minds founder and Executive Director Alison Malmon. (Photo11: Photo courtesy Spitz)

And Spitz is not alone. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in every four young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 have a diagnosable mental illness, which includes depression, anxiety, eating disorders and addictive behaviors among others. This statistic inspired Spitz to share her story in an effort to diminish stigmas surrounding mental health issues.

And she has inspired the country. Just last week Spitz was named one of CNN’s “Nine Mental Health Warriors,” honoring those who are making a difference in the fight for mental wellness.

Spitz says it wasn’t easy to open up and share her experiences at first. When she returned to Emory in the fall of 2011, she had many awkward conversations and was hesitant to tell people where she had been for the past two years.

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But once she discovered Active Minds, a non-profit student mental health advocacy organization, her disorder became an experience she used to help others.

“I really do believe that Active Minds has helped me get through school,” says Spitz. “I began sharing my story with people and I found that by starting to talk about it, we can get other people to talk about it and really get people the help that they need and deserve.”

“We all think that if we’re struggling it’s our fault and we’re the only ones."

This is exactly what Alison Malmon had in mind when she founded Active Minds in 2003 at the University of Pennsylvania after her brother took his own life at the age of 22. The organization is now on 400 high school and college campuses nationwide

“I started Active Minds with the goal to get students talking about mental health issues--to share their experiences, to learn from others, to know that there is help and to feel comfortable getting that help as soon as they need it,” Malmon says.

She says Active Minds is fortunate to have members like Spitz.

“She’s a tremendous advocate who uses her experiences to help others,” says Malmon. To open up about what she’s experienced and use it to help and support others, it just speaks volumes for her character.”

Dr. Mark McLeod, the director of Emory’s Student Counseling Center and Emory’s Active Minds adviser calls Spitz a “force of nature.”

He says Active Mind’s presence at Emory has been instrumental in sparking important conversations on campus. McLeod points to one event called “Speak Out,” where students to submit and read stories about their own mental health challenges, that has proved tremendously successful over the past three years.

“As a mental health professional, for students to just come to an event like that, and then to speak at an event like that, or even have their story read anonymously-- it’s just mind blowing,” says McLeod. “Four years ago you would have had nobody there.”

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McLeod hopes that in the upcoming years, Spitz’s work will prompt students to view mental and physical health issues in a similar light.

“There’s no logical reason in my mind why it should be harder to tell somebody, ‘I’m anxious,’ ‘I’m depressed,’ as opposed to ‘I have a sore throat,’ My arm is hurting,’” says Spitz. “Active Minds is going to change that and to be a part of that, which is an amazing thing.”

While Emory and other campuses have come a long way, Malmon says there’s still more to be done.

“Not quite everyone yet has that knowledge of the real nature of mental health issues -- that mental health issues are real health issues, and there are resources available for seeking out help,” Malmon says.

She hopes Active Minds will reach every U.S. college campus so students like Spitz can inspire others to get help.

“We all think that if we’re struggling it’s our fault and we’re the only ones,” says Malmon. “(Sarah) reminds everybody that it’s not always sunshine and roses throughout a young adult life – that challenges can happen and you have reason to hope.”

And Spitz is eager to continue sharing her story and giving advice

“Do your best, and accept that your best might not be the same as someone else’s best and that’s OK,” says Spitz. “There are a lot of people, offices and professionals in the university system that are there to help. So just know you’re not alone.”

While Spitz never expected that her initial struggle would become a life-long mental health advocacy fight, she has big plans for the future.

“I want to show that it’s possible to get through college even if you struggle,” says Spitz. “Know that it’s OK if your path doesn’t look the same as everyone else’s.”

Rachel Rosenbaum is a student at Emory University and a spring 2015 USA TODAY Collegiate Correspondent.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.

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