ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) -A St. Charles County teen is hoping to help others navigating the complexities of their own mental health by sharing the story of her own struggle.<\/p>\n
Alyssa Maloney, 18, said given her personality, academics and social life, no one ever would have suspected she was facing an internal battle that started to become difficult to manage.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor someone like me, it\u2019s so easy to get caught up in the mindset of you can do it on your own, you\u2019re a superhuman, you can do this,\u201d said Maloney. \u201cBut sometimes you don\u2019t have to be strong, sometimes being strong is reaching out.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a lesson Maloney is now impressing upon others, as she works to publicly share her struggle with mental health during her junior year of high school.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t really want to reach out to family or friends because I thought I could handle it alone,\u201d she said. \u201cThere was such a stigma around it, I was like, I don\u2019t want people to worry about me, like I\u2019m okay, it\u2019s okay. But in my head there was so much going on\u2026I should have reached out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maloney said the impacts of social isolation stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic began to weigh on her, as she struggled with anxiety and depression. Certain family issues, she said, made the feelings even harder to manage.<\/p>\n
Her mother, Jenna Rakers, began noticing some behavioral changes at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe would isolate herself in her room rather than wanting to be downstairs with me and the kids,\u201d said Rakers. \u201cI decided to see if therapy might help her with some coping strategies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maloney said she spent months in therapy, but the feelings persisted. None of her family or friends at school knew the extent of the mental turmoil she was facing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to differentiate, \u2018Oh she\u2019s just a teenager and she\u2019s going through those teenage years,\u2019 and okay, there\u2019s a real issue here, and that was a real struggle for me to figure out,\u201d said Rakers. \u201cI feel like I only figured that out when it came to a head.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maloney said it all became too much last October, when she overdosed on a bottle of pain medication.<\/p>\n
She was able to alert her parents and get to the hospital for treatment, an experience she said not only changed her life, but gave her an idea for a career path.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo much of the treatment from therapists to nurses to psychiatrists ignited this interest in pursuing public health,\u201d said Maloney. \u201cGiven I\u2019ve been where so many future patients have been mentally, I think I can use my story to help encourage others.\u201d<\/p>\n
About a week later, Maloney returned to school at Fort Zumwalt West High School. There, she told her best friend, Hershey Bhutoria, what had happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can truly be anybody,\u201d said Bhutoria. \u201cI never would have guessed it would be Alyssa, she\u2019s my best friend and I know everything about her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both women are members of HOSA, a school club designed for students interested in healthcare careers. Together, they decided to enter the state competition, using public health and the idea of reestablishing human connection as their focus.<\/p>\n
The competition consisted of a live presentation, in which Alyssa decided to share her story publicly for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople need to hear about this, but this is so personal to me. What are they going to think about me?\u201d said Maloney. \u201cI had to set that aside and know that telling my story is going to help me, open up, make those connections, and then it could also reach at least one person, which is all I wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n
The girls took second place at the state competition, advancing to the HOSA international competition in Nashville in June.<\/p>\n
\u201cHearing it out loud was tough,\u201d said Rakers. \u201cI was there when it happened but it was so tough hearing her say it, but I was like, she\u2019s come so far and she\u2019s turning this into something meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their appearance at the international competition marked a first for Fort Zumwalt West High School in the club\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the biggest misconception is there\u2019s a certain stereotype of people that go through that, but it\u2019s truly everyone,\u201d said Bhutoria. \u201cIt\u2019s not as uncommon as you think, it\u2019s only uncommon because we don\u2019t speak about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rakers said mental health will likely remain a lifelong battle for her daughter, but she\u2019s hopeful with the right mixture of tools and strategies, she\u2019ll be able to successfully navigate it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no shame in therapy, there is no shame in medication and there is no shame in saying I\u2019m a little bit lost,\u201d said Rakers. \u201cSo make sure you\u2019re having those open conversations with your kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the girls approach the final semester of their senior year, they hope to continue the conversation about mental health among teens.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had good grades, I was normal, I never lashed out in class, I was the average girl and this happened, so I think that makes people more aware of how common this is,\u201d said Maloney.<\/p>\n
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