- Integration 2 Community and Mental Health: A Journey Some of the most important questions I’ve asked myself this semester were in regard to whether I was eating properly and if I would feel content with my life when looking back on it in the future. This often helped me make decisions to spend more time with friends and family rather than overly stressing about something I had no control over. This is a strategy that I will continue to use because I think it has helped improve my mental health to some extent, and I know that I will encounter more stressful situations during my life here at Notre Dame and beyond. As a result of my Notre Dame journey thus far, several things have grown and decreased in importance. I have come to realize that my mental health is more important in the long run than getting perfect grades. This also applies to my physical health because I have gotten sick at least four times during this semester and I don’t think that is good. Self care has also increased in importance for me and I realized that this is different for many people. At the beginning of the semester, I saw everyone going to parties and hanging out in giant groups but I decided that has never really been for me. Thus, I have yet to go tailgating or to a party. I prefer staying in my room and playing video games with online friends, and I think that is just as valid as going to a party if I get the same amount of enjoyment. I think this is something people struggle to accept, and I am glad that I figured it out fairly quickly. This also made me realize, however, that I need to interact more with the people around me. For this reason, I will make an effort to go tailgating and experience that at least once next year. Something else that has increased in importance for me is food and nutrition. At several points in the semester, I was not eating enough or getting the nutrients necessary to get through the day. For example, I am currently still eating two meals a day instead of three. I realized that even if the food gets repetitive, I still need to do my best and eat when I am supposed to. It was actually kind of humorous because I ate so much when I went back home for Thanksgiving break, simply because I missed the food. That aside, I had always thought that community was relatively straightforward. I thought it simply meant being part of a group of people doing the same thing. Now, I realize that it is actually more complicated than this and that although, “the most common connotation of the word ‘community’ in our culture is ‘intimacy,’ this is a trap.” 1 This sort of supports my previous belief because you don’t always have to be close to everyone in a community. When I first arrived at Lewis Hall though, we were told that this was our new community and that everyone had to 1 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/28298/modules/items/103498 Palmer, “13 Ways..Community” (Week 11) https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/28298/modules/items/103498 take care of each other. This made me realize that not every community will hold the same amount of importance to you and that it is important to do your best for the communities that do matter the most to you. Something I was sort of unclear about on the other hand, was imposter syndrome. I thought it wasn’t really applicable to so many people, but I found out that anyone can experience imposter syndrome at any point in their life. I found that this quote perfectly addresses the misconception I had about it: “to call it a syndrome is to downplay how universal it is. It’s not a disease or an abnormality, and it isn’t necessarily tied to depression, anxiety, or self esteem.” 2 I think this is important to keep in mind because you are not alone in new situations, and there will always be at least one person who feels the same way as you. Furthermore, I have encountered a clearer definition of hatred as well as humankind that I plan on taking into consideration for my future decisions. After taking philosophy, I was able to comprehend these different texts that we read for Moreau a lot more easily. Specifically, I enjoyed reading the following about hatred: “Hatred is more dangerous to us than any other threat, because it attacks the immune system of our society — our ability to see danger, come together and take action. Hatred poisons everything.Yet we seem not to see the danger. As Augustine wrote in his Confessions,“It is strange that we should not realize that no enemy could be more dangerous to us than the hatred with which we hate him.” 3 I was able to apply this to many different encounters in my life and I have come to the conclusion that moving forward, I will try to minimize hatred and negative feelings toward others, regardless of how many rough situations I encounter (with family, etc). I think this will help me grow as a person and hopefully help me mend relationships back home. Similarly, we have discussed humanity in my philosophy class, and I think this quote portrays how I now view humans and souls/spirits: “humans are amphibians - half spirit and half animal.As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time.” 4 Therefore, moving forward, I want to make the most out of my experiences. As mentioned before, I will be indulging in the things that make me happy already, and I will also explore new things that have the potential to become my favorites as well. I know that throughout my time here at Notre Dame, I will encounter many more difficulties, but these are what I want to keep in mind in order to push through. 4 https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/28298/files/186733/download?download_frd=1 Lewis “Screwtape Letters” (Week 12) 3 https://president.nd.edu/homilies-writings-addresses/wesley-theological-seminary-commencement/ Jenkins, “Wesley..commencement” (Week 10) 2 https://youtu.be/ZQUxL4Jm1Lo Cox, “What is Imposter Syndrome?” (Week 9) https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/28298/files/186733/download?download_frd=1 https://president.nd.edu/homilies-writings-addresses/wesley-theological-seminary-commencement/ https://youtu.be/ZQUxL4Jm1Lo