Everything had to be perfect.
At least, that is how Hannah Price described growing up with severe anxiety.
“I was very anxious about the little things. I was really irritable,” she said. “I struggled with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), which is a side effect. I felt like everything had to be perfect.”
At the age of 12, the now University of Idaho second-year student joined the 40 million people in America who suffer from some form of anxiety, according to the nonprofit advocacy organization Anxiety and Depression Association of American (ADAA).
On top of navigating the complicated pangs of adolescence, Price said she constantly felt the symptoms of her condition in high-pressure situations, which often manifested itself in school.
“With tests that were really high stakes, I’d get really nervous and sometimes my brain freezes,” she said. “But I had to do as well as I could. I think it definitely does interfere with my everyday life.”
Finally, after years of distress, Price and her parents visited a doctor, who diagnosed her and prescribed her with Fluoxetine, commonly known as Prozac. The results were gradual, but beneficial for the Coeur d’Alene native.
Dr. David Wait, a psychiatrist with Gritman Medical Center in Moscow, said Price and her family took the rare, but vital step in getting help, which many are afraid to do because of societal stigma surrounding anxiety and mental disorders.
“I suppose there’s a stigma around any type of mental illness,” he said. “It’s gotten better over time, but it’s still there. It’s a health problem that if you don’t take care of, has consequences — possibly life-threatening consequences.”
While 18 percent of the U.S. population suffers from some kind of anxiety disorder, the ADAA reports about 37 percent of those potential patients seek out and are given the help they need. Wait said this practice can lead to serious side-effects and worsening of the condition, as many instances of anxiety serve as a symptom of a much deeper issue like depression.
For Price, her own struggles were only amplified when joining the college atmosphere. After a relatively relaxed first year, she said the increased workload heading into her second year began enflaming her anxiety once again.
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“It has been a big part of my life,” she said. “In college, you have a lot higher stakes, because you’re paying for your classes, you know how it goes.”
After realizing her anxiety was interfering with her personal life, Price said she took the advice of her loved ones and attempted to find additional help.
She said she took advantage of the many counseling options offered on UI’s campus, including the Counseling and Testing Center.
“I tried to learn different coping mechanisms,” Price said. “You can go in, take tests on your time, have extra time to do them — that’s been really helpful. I’ve also taken advantage of the counseling centers here on campus. I’ve seen a couple different counselors to work on my coping skills.”
Wait said cases like Price, where patients seek out additional help and treatment, are rare. Some students will resort to other means of getting by in school without realizing their need for actual medical assistance. One of the more dangerous can be borrowing — or even purchasing — prescription drugs from friends or roommates.
That’s what one UI student, Mia*, said she did to help her get through her heavy workload one night. While Mia said she does not suffer from an anxiety disorder, her brief foray into taking Adderall was enough to convince her the practice was not ideal.
“I usually don’t have a lot of motivation to get my work done,” she said. “I think that’s why people probably do it, to just get their work done.”
Mia said while she did feel a brief sensation of increased motivation and focus, she did not take advantage of the drug’s full effects. After a while, the sensation wore off and life went back to normal.
“I feel like I would’ve gotten a lot more done if I had actually been focused on what I was doing. It would have beneficial,” she said. “I thought about doing it again, but I don’t feel the need to. Some people do it a lot though.”
While Mia said her experience was brief and relatively harmless, she said she understood repeated use and reliance on performance-enhancing drugs, such as Adderall, could lead to serious complications.
Wait echoed the sentiment, saying drugs, such as Adderall, are controlled substances to keep the average student from becoming reliant.
“That risk-benefit is not worthwhile. If the person has a more pervasive problem, like ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder), it’s very reasonable,” Wait said. “If it’s only used as a performance enhancement, it really has enough risks and problems, that most doctors would not prescribe it for performance-enhancing.”
Adderall, Wait said, was first introduced into American society as a diet drug. However, after wide-spread use, those taking it started to develop significant psychotic disorders.
Now, he said, the drug is used mainly to treat forms of ADHD and can be relatively harmless when used under a doctor’s direction.
It’s when the drug starts to make its way to others who wish to enhance their performance on their next test or pull an all-night homework bender, Wait said problems start to arise.
As for Price, she said she hopes to one day wean herself off her own medication and instead rely on coping mechanisms, such as counseling.
While she understands why other students may feel overwhelmed by the pressures of higher education, she agreed with Wait and urged against finding medication outside of a doctor’s prescription.
Instead, she said, students should take the first crucial step and simply talk to someone.
“Find somebody who they trust — their mom, their friend,” Price said. “Somebody who they trust and can talk to. It starts with just talking about it and knowing that you need help.”
Wait said students should view receiving mental health help like treating any other kind of medical problem.
If an athlete gets injured, they see a doctor. If a student needs help, they should see someone, as well. The problems, he said, are one in the same.
“Not addressing the problem, letting it subside, could really be dangerous. It could lead to worsening depression or anxiety disorders. Both will respond a lot better if treated early,” he said. “They’re easy to treat, and the response is a lot faster. The sooner you get assistance, the better off you are.”
Story by Brandon Hill
Photos by Olivia Heersink
Design by Lindsay Trombly & Alex Brizee