Today I spoke at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. It was a great opportunity and Charleston is an awesome city. The Citadel is a military school where everyone has to wear a uniform and follow a military lifestyle on campus. I spoke to all of the juniors who are allowed off of campus for 4 hours every Wednesday night and on the weekends. Apparently a lot of the 95% male campus tries to release everything they can in their 4 hours off campus, which is definitely understandable, but can create some mental health problems.
So I talked about alcohol and how I used it to self-medicate all of my symptoms of bipolar disorder as well as other issues. I think it’s always tough to speak to an all male audience for a variety of reasons, but the presentation went over really well. A lot of the cadets thanked me for coming and I was really happy to have the chance.
There is a lot of stress at every college, but when you’re waking up everyday at 5:30 AM and scheduled to be doing things until lights out at 11 PM it can be even more stressful. So I hope you Citadel cadets get some sleep! Thanks to your counseling center and people devoted to helping you be ok for bringing me!
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Hi Ross! I am a cadet at The Citadel and I really enjoyed the speech that you gave to us a week or so ago. I found a great deal of inspiration from your story because I found many similarities of it in my own life. When I was a freshman and sophomore HS student in Denver, CO I had two near fatal occurances involving drugs, OD’ing. Luckily I had parents that cared very much for my safety and they sent me to military school… the rest is history. However, I still battle with my social anxiety - though I do not resort to alcohol of drugs to deal with it anymore, I feel a renewed sense of hope that I can find help to someday find a different way to overcome my anxiety after hearing what you had to say. Thank you for visiting us.
“With its real human characters and expert guidance, Behind Happy Faces has the potential to bust through the stigma and ignorance that have too long precluded access to effective treatment and understanding. Szabo’s enthralling narrative draws its strength from the power of his personal story, and the honesty with which he—and the other young people represented in the book—challenge the myths and stereotypes surrounding mental illness.
This powerful book deserves the widest possible audience."
~ Gail Griffith Author, Will’s Choice: A Suicidal Teen, a Desperate Mother, and a Chronicle of Recovery
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September 12th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
Hi Ross! I am a cadet at The Citadel and I really enjoyed the speech that you gave to us a week or so ago. I found a great deal of inspiration from your story because I found many similarities of it in my own life. When I was a freshman and sophomore HS student in Denver, CO I had two near fatal occurances involving drugs, OD’ing. Luckily I had parents that cared very much for my safety and they sent me to military school… the rest is history. However, I still battle with my social anxiety - though I do not resort to alcohol of drugs to deal with it anymore, I feel a renewed sense of hope that I can find help to someday find a different way to overcome my anxiety after hearing what you had to say. Thank you for visiting us.