https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ZuQmTjsHrk9rIbfMQflgwRJlJEMrREKFnvOh1sE2mfQ/edit?usp=sharing

Do you cite and quote your sources appropriately? Do you introduce their credibility before citing evidence and claims from them? Yes, I believe so and I named who it was and their credibility of the subject. I didn’t in text quote on thing correctly because it didn’t really have a title.

Are all of your sources credible? Yes, for the most part all of my sources are credible. I had a site that gave me all the websites that are credible.

Do you present how you are connected to the issue/any background you have in relation to it? No, because I’m not really connected to the issue. I’ve never been pregnant and my family never had an abortion.

Have you conducted enough research that your audience feels you are knowledgeable about your subject? Yes I have. I have so many tabs open of research open I had to use three windows.

Do you appeal to a wide audience? Do you address and concede to at least one opposing view or reasonable conclusion that differs from your own? Yes, I have respectfully said a couple of points that the opposing side has.

Are you empathetic, understanding, and respectful in your language to the community that the issue most negatively effects? I am very empathetic being a woman myself. It affects more poor areas in the world so I can’t relate to that myself, but I am still empathetic for them.

Is your solution ethical? Yes, I wasn’t asking for much. I thought of solution for people who want to be more politically active and people who don’t.

Is your essay appropriately written for an academic audience (MLA format, correct grammar, appropriate vocab)? Yes, I believe so. It’s for me to say yes for sure to these questions because I’m 100% confident in my work until it’s graded.

Is the essay mostly your own conclusions drawn from your experience and research (vs. a summary of what you’ve read or too much quoting from other authors without providing your own informed and reasoned opinion)? I’ve provided some of my own opinions and used evidence to back up my claims. The paper isn’t only my opinion of things though. There is a lot of evidence. Hopefully enough.

Janae Redmond

Janel Spencer

Writing 101S

10 December 2019

                                                            Our Body Our Choice

            Abortion is a very talked about subject throughout the world. Many people have very different stances on this topic. The well-known sides are pro-choice and pro-life. Both sides believe the other is black and white. Those who sided with pro-choice advocates for keeping abortion legal and believe that it is the women’s right to choose whether or not they want to keep the baby. Those who side with pro-life are generally opposed to abortion and believe that aborting a baby is murder and shouldn’t be legal, while sometimes allowing for health exceptions. Religion may have a lot to do with the reasoning behind their opinion on abortion. The Roman Catholic Church opposes abortion in all circumstances, while the Southern Baptist Church also opposes abortion, but allows an exception when the mother’s life is in danger. Mormons and Hindu teachings also generally oppose abortion. Those who are pro-life may misunderstand the meaning of being pro-choice as advocating for abortion. In actuality, we simply believe women have the right to access abortion when they feel they need one. I personally believe that we as a society should all respect each other’s personal choices. After considering the importance of having the right to terminate rape pregnancies, that not having the right to safe abortions leads to unhealthy ones, studies show that lack of access to abortion negatively impacts women’s emotional state, and the science behind abortion, I hope you will consider the importance of the right to abort for women.

It’s important to remember that not all pregnancies are chosen, planned, or voluntary. Pregnancy after sexual assault is an ongoing public health issue. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine says that almost 3 million U.S. women (2.5%) experienced rape-related pregnancy during their lifetime. Rape victims who have been impregnated can be a very traumatic situation for them and they can end up not being able to bond with their child; for some, they can grow to resent their child as they are a constant reminder of their trauma. Trauma is very stressful on a person and can lead to depression, anxiety, and many other psychiatric disorders. About 33% of rape victims have suicidal thoughts and 13% of rape victims will attempt suicide. (The Suicide Prevention, Awareness, and Support organization) Numerous rape victims who struggle with untreated depression and suicidal thoughts unfortunately go through with taking their lives. A child with a mother who can’t be emotionally available for them can end in a messy life for that child. Pavan Amara wrote an article about a woman named Sarah he met at his “My Body Back” Project. Sarah was impregnated after a sexual assault. During labor Sarah was reliving her assault every push she made. After the baby was birthed, she couldn’t keep herself sane and became very suicidal. She didn’t take her own life, but she did suffer quietly for months. She was avoiding her neonatal visits which put her child’s health at risk. Abortion should especially be legal and accessible for women who have been through a sexual assault so they can prevent any further traumatic outcomes. Although the risk factor is low, there is always the chance that rape victims can catch a sexually transmitted disease from their attacker. According to the CDC, HIV is a common infection that the few sexual assault victims get. Thankfully there is antiviral and antibiotic medication that can prevent it from affecting the child, but not everyone can afford or has access to those treatments. The PMC claims that the total operating cost for 2,153 visits (while considering the laboratory testing, medications for treatment, supplies, and the number of visits) was estimated at $255,769, or $119 per visit. Coercion is also something to keep in mind when thinking about pregnancy and abortion. Up to 80% of women experience some form of sexual coercion and it’s commonly committed by someone they know. Although it’s not considered a sexual assault, persuading someone by using force and/or threats to commit sexual acts can also be a trauma for some and possibly could hinder their ability to trust others. The effects of coercion can make dating hard for women as well. Abortion should stay legal for these exact reasons. If we put ourselves in the shoes of women who are at risk of experiencing sexual trauma, hopefully we can realize how important the choice of abortion is for them.

Now let’s talk about unsafe abortion. Unsafe abortion is an ignored public health problem contributing to 13% of maternal death worldwide. (US National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of Health). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Approximately 55% of all abortions from 2010-2014 were safe or performed by a trained health worker using methods appropriate to the pregnancy duration; more than 30% of abortions were ‘less safe’, meaning the trained provider was using an unsafe method (such as sharp curettage), or using a safe method (like misoprostol tablets) but without appropriate information about the pregnancy; and about 14% of abortions were ‘least safe’, meaning they were provided by an untrained person or did it themselves using dangerous methods, such as introduction of foreign objects and use of herbal concoctions.” All these percentages together mean that 45% of abortions worldwide are done unsafely. Deaths from abortion are high in the cases where the abortion happened in the least safe circumstances. In countries such as Southern Africa and South-Central Asia where there are restrictive abortion laws (banned or only allowed when saving a women’s life), only 1 out of 4 abortions were done safely. In comparison, in countries such as Northern Europe, North American, and Eastern Asia where abortion is legal and accepted, 9 out of 10 abortions were done safely. Around 7 million women are admitted to hospitals every year in poor agricultural countries, as a result of unsafe abortion. Women, as well as adolescents, with unwelcomed pregnancies will look to unsafe ways to abort when they don’t have access to a safe abortion. Things like poor availability, high costs, and stigma make it difficult for unsafe abortions to be avoided. To prevent unsafe abortion, countries need to make sure that women have access to safe and legal abortion.

Alexandra Sifferlin, a writer for The Times, wrote about a study called “the turnaway study” where University of San Francisco researchers interviewed 956 women from 21 states who sought an abortion; they interviewed the women a total of eleven times (once a week after seeking an abortion, and again every six months for five years). When the women who were turned away after wanting an abortion were interviewed a week after the fact, it was found that they had the highest levels of anxiety, low life satisfaction, and very low self-esteem. This was very similar to the other women six months to a year later. Earlier studies have shown that women’s depressive symptoms peaked just before having an abortion and showed immediate emotional improvements after they got the procedure. The notably high levels of stress of the women who got turned down from an abortion can be due to the stress of trying to acquire the procedure along with the stresses provided by society that come with it.

The science of abortion is where it gets complicated. In May of this year, the New York Times science bestseller and journalist at MIT, Adam Rogers, wrote an article about how anti-abortion laws are using incorrect science to defend their views by stating that the heartbeat of a fetus is the defining moment of aliveness. Anti-abortion laws want to ban abortion after more than six weeks of pregnancy. They generally say that a “fetal heartbeat” predicts whether a living baby will come out of the pregnancy. Within his article, Rogers quotes qualified ob-gyn and gynecologist doctors; one being Jennifer Kerns. Kerns claims that the rhythm described in the six-week abortion bans is “a group of cells with electrical activity and we are in no way talking about any kind of cardiovascular system.” To some extent the rhythm is a sign of a good healthy growing embryo, but what’s truly happening is our technology has advanced dramatically to the point where we’re able to detect the electrical activity. In 1984, scientists would feel extremely lucky if they picked up any activity six weeks into the pregnancy.  Janet Rossant, a senior scientist and chief of research emeritus at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, states, “there is a definite cardiac rhythm in the tiny, little, immature heart at 8.5 days of development, but it is certainly not enough to support viability.” Following that statement, she claims that the tiny heartbeat is just an encouragement of the vascular and circulatory system development but is not viable by itself. The word “viability” is commonly used to describe a baby that is far enough in maturation that it can survive outside the mother’s womb. In actuality, it generally takes 24 weeks. Viability means that in that moment, it looks like the pregnancy is normal and can continue on. Many believe that after the third trimester (week 28 and on) or, because every pregnancy is different, when the fetus begins to form actual systems where they could survive on an incubator (controlled environment for the care and protection of premature or unusually small babies).

At the time Rogers article was posted, Alabama was set to vote on a bill would make preforming an abortion a crime that is punishable by up to 99 years in prison. He states that Alabama is just a small part of a nationwide push, with more than 300 bills in 2019. Georgia and Ohio are a part of that push as well. Those who are pushing these bills may have forgotten about possibility of a miscarriage after the detection of so called “heartbeat”. This would mean that women who do miscarry would be subjected to prosecution, which could possibility deter them from getting medical attention. Brett Kavanaugh (a trump nominee) enlightened the Supreme Court with the possibility that legalizing these anti-abortion bills would overbalance the Roe v. Wade, the 40-year-old decision that legalized abortion until the fetus is viable in 1973.

Considering the evidence, I encourage everyone to make the facts known. Not everyone wants to be politically involved, but protesting could possibly help people be aware of the importance that women should be able to choose what they want to do with their bodies. Due to Roe v. Wade, the law supports their right and overriding it would be unconstitutional. My call to action is to be an advocate for abortion if they so need within the trimester specification. Stick your guns and know your rights.

Janae Redmond

Janel Spencer

Writing 101S

21 November 2019

                                                            Our Body Our Choice

            Abortion is a very talked about subject throughout the United States. Many people have very different stances on this topic. The well-known sides are pro-choice and pro-life. Both sides are pretty black and white. Those who are sided with pro-choice advocate for the legalization of abortion and believe that it is the women’s right to choose whether or not they want to keep the baby. Those who side with pro-life are opposed to abortion and believe that aborting a concepted baby is murder and shouldn’t be legal in any way shape or form. According to Planned Parenthood, many pro-life people support capital punishment (the death penalty) and are opposed to welfare legislation (arrangements that promote human well-being and the fulfilment of international human rights). People who are pro-life often misunderstand the meaning of being pro-choice as we support abortion and termination of a fetus. In actuality, we simply believe the women have the right to access abortion when they feel they need it. I personally believe that these two sides should be put aside and us as a society should all respect each other’s personal choices because the science behind abortion contradicts opposing sides opinions, not having the right to a safe abortion can lead to an unhealthy one, if abortion wasn’t legal, it can negatively impact women’s emotional state, and not having the right to terminate rape pregnancies would be a big problem.

  It’s important to remember that not all pregnancies are chosen, planned, or voluntary. Pregnancy after sexual assault is an ongoing public health issue. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine says that almost 3 million U.S. women (2.5%) experienced rape-related pregnancy during their lifetime. Rape victims who have been impregnated can be very traumatic for them and they can end up not being able to bond with their child. Many women grow to resent their child as they are a constant reminder of their trauma. Trauma is very stressful on a person and can lead to depression, anxiety, and many other psychiatric disorders. About 33% of rape victims have suicidal thoughts and 13% of rape victims will attempt suicide. (The Suicide Prevention, Awareness, and Support website) Numerous rape victims who struggle with untreated depression and suicidal thoughts unfortunately go through with taking their lives. A child with a mother can’t be emotionally available for them can end in a messy life for that child. Abortion should especially be available for women who have been through a sexual assault so they can save their lives and their child’s life from becoming unstable. There is always the chance that rape victims can catch a sexually transmitted disease from their attacker. Thankfully there is antiviral and antibiotic medication that can prevent it from affecting the child, but not everyone can afford or has access to those medications. Coercion is also something to keep in mind when thinking about pregnancy and abortion. Although it’s not considered a sexual assault, persuading someone by using force and/or threats to commit sexual acts can also be a trauma for some. Abortion should always stay legal for these exact reasons. If we put ourselves in others shoes, hopefully we can realize how important the choice of abortion is.

Now let’s talk about unsafe abortion. Unsafe abortion is an ignored public health problem contributing to 13% of maternal death worldwide. (US National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of Health). According to WHO (World Health Organization), approximately 55% of all abortions from 2010-2014 were safe or performed by a trained health worker using methods appropriate to the pregnancy duration, more than 30% of abortions were ‘less safe’, meaning the trained provider was using an unsafe method (such as sharp curettage), or using a safe method (like misoprostol tablets) but without appropriate information about the pregnancy, and about 14% of abortions were ‘least safe’, meaning they were provided by untrained person or did it themselves using dangerous methods, such as introduction of foreign objects and use of herbal concoctions. All these percentages together mean that 45% of abortions worldwide are done unsafely. Deaths from abortion are high in the cases where the abortion happened in the least safe circumstances. In countries such as Southern Africa and South-Central Asia where there are restrictive abortion laws (banned or only allowed when saving a women’s life), only 1 out of 4 abortions were done safely. In comparison to countries such as Northern Europe, North American, and Eastern Asia where abortion is legal and accepted, which 9 out of 10 abortions were done safely. Around 7 million women are admitted to hospitals every year in poor agricultural countries, as a result of unsafe abortion. Women, as well as adolescents, with unwelcomed pregnancies often look to unsafe ways to abort when they don’t have access to safe abortion. Things like poor availability, high costs, and stigma make it difficult for unsafe abortions to be avoided. To prevent unsafe abortion, countries need to make sure that women have access to safe and legal abortion.

Alexandra Sifferlin, a writer for The Times, wrote about a study called “the turnaway study” where University of San Francisco researchers interviewed nine hundred fifty six women from twenty-one states who sought an abortion, a total of eleven times (once a week after seeking an abortion, and again every six months for five years). When the women who were turned away after wanting an abortion were interviewed a week after the fact, it was found that they had the highest levels of anxiety, low life satisfaction, and very low self-esteem. This was very similar to the other women six months to a year later. Earlier studies have shown that women’s depressive symptoms peaked just before having an abortion and showed immediate emotionally improvements after they got the procedure. The notably high levels of stress of the women who got turned down from an abortion can be due to the stress of trying to acquire the procedure along with the stresses provided by society that come with it.

Janae Redmond

Janel Spencer

Writing 101S

21 November 2019

                    Our Earth is Warming

Global warming has become a well conversed topic among scientists and people in the world today. There are always fanatics who do everything possible to stop contributing to the warming, but the average person does little to alleviate the issue and in many cases refuses to acknowledge that there is a problem at all. Dating back to millions of years ago, even before humanity was born, the world has always experienced one form or another of warming; so the warming seen today is not as bizarre as many may think. As to what is creating the current warming, that is where a query is imposed. Scientists from around the globe have theorized close to every possible contributor to the warming seen today, and the conclusion that present occurrences of global warming are being evoked by human interference has become evident.  Through the eyes of most scientists, global warming is seen as a very serious and severe threat. The actions taken by humans, such as industry and consumption of fossil fuels plus the increase in population and agriculture have played a big part in global warming. 

The warming of the earth is caused by greenhouse gases that trap long-wave radiation in the atmosphere. Before man existed, there were greenhouse gases already being emitted. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases accumulate atmospheric layers prevent heat being radiated from the earth to escape. Without greenhouse gases the earth would be significantly cooler but with increased human activities, temperatures are rising to an unstable level. Each gas’s effect on climate change depends on three main factors: How much is in the atmosphere?, How long do they stay in the atmosphere?, and How strongly do they impact the atmosphere?. Carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil), solid waste, trees and other biological materials. Certain chemical reactions (e.g., manufacture of cement) can also result in carbon dioxide emission. Methane is also emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil, but methane emissions result from livestock and other agricultural practices and by the decay of organic waste in municipal solid waste landfills as well. Nitrous oxide is emitted during agricultural and industrial activities, combustion of fossil fuels and solid waste, as well as during treatment of wastewater. Fluorinated Gases (Hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and nitrogen trifluoride) are synthetic, powerful greenhouse gases that are emitted from a variety of industrial processes. Fluorinated gases are sometimes used as substitutes for stratospheric ozone-depleting substances (e.g., chlorofluorocarbons, hydrochlorofluorocarbons, and halons). These gases are typically emitted in smaller quantities, but because they are potent greenhouse gases, they are sometimes referred to as “High Global Warming Potential” gases. A U.S greenhouse gas emissions in 2017 graph showed that 82% of it was carbon dioxide. Larger emissions of greenhouse gases lead to higher concentrations in the atmosphere. A lot of carbon dioxide is a big issue.

Work Cited

“Global Warming.” National Climatic Data Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, n.d. (November 21, 2019). <http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cmb-faq/globalwarming.html&gt;.
US EPA. (2019). Overview of Greenhouse Gases | US EPA. [online] Available at: https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases [Accessed 24 Nov. 2019].

The opposing side of argument that global warming is happening and is caused my man, may say that there hasn’t been any global warming since 1997, that the Artic Ice is up 50% since 2012, and that there is no scientific consensus that it is man made. Unfortunately, they have been fed the wrong information. Granted, a lot of these opposing articles had been posted in 2014. At that time, I didn’t know global warming is existed. It is a fact that even if man did not exist, global warming would still exist, but to a certain extent. The earth is kept warm from natural gases in the atmosphere. If these gases were to not exist, our earth would be a very cold place. So cold that it could potentially lead to massive ice formations to form throughout the world.

In the conversations I had, I learned that there aren’t any people in this class are against my topic and are for the most part sympathetic with it. Other peoples topics are heavy and no one were hostile against those. For example, racism, PETA, and marijuana. They think weed should be legalized nationally, PETA shouldn’t be government funded and needs to be shut down, and racism is a big issue and needs action to be taken against it. Three of the people I talked to today were very passionate about their arguments and had full on arguments about it. One of the students suggested that I look more into my solution to the problem because it’s to far ahead. She asked what she should do about it when she leaves the classroom.

We need to take action in solving climate change immediately. The weather is rapidly getting warmer and warmer and is currently melting our polar ice caps. Animals homes are becoming ruined as well and it is our duty to stop this from happening due to human kind creating the problem itself.

Emotional Fallacy: Scare Tactic – If we don’t figure out how to solve climate change soon, we will all die.

Ethical Fallacy: Dogmatism – I know that our continuing the use of cars is the main problem and will be our downfall.

Logical Fallacy: Hasty Generalization – I really don’t like it when everyone says that climate change isn’t real.

Janae Redmond

Janel Spencer

Writing 101S

18 October 2019

                    The Sickly Hearts and Minds

    I hate the mental hospital. Well, psychiatric hospital, but people who’ve been there call it mental because they treat you like your mental. It’s like a jail in a way. The beds are insanely uncomfortable, the entire facility is almost empty, your day is scheduled for you, and the food is disgusting. If you start to really act up and cause a big disrupting scene, they booty juice you. Meaning they sedate you. I’m not sure if jail is actually like that, but in the movies it’s portrayed that way. Anyways, even though it is an awful place to be in my eyes, it’s very much needed and I was there for a reason. I struggle with Bipolar Disorder ll, Social Anxiety, Nightmare Disorder, and PTSD. My childhood wasn’t very good which made me a very angry and sad child. I first started showing signs of depression when I was in middle school and it progressively got worse as I got older. I started becoming very suicidal in junior year. That was the year I started self-harming daily, developed an alcohol addiction, had awful and gruesome nightmares nightly, and had my first suicide attempt, which is what put me in the hospital for the first time. I was there for a week, but the days went so slow that the week felt like a month. After that, I made a promise to myself that I would never put myself back in that place. Unfortunately I broke that promise. 

I was diagnosed with all the diagnoseis I listed earlier, during my senior year, multiple months after my first mental hospital visit. Being diagnosed was complicated process because my psychiatrist wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to misdiagnose me. In the end, it was a very validating experience for me because I had been struggling with these emotions for a very long time and it was extremely frustrating to not know what was wrong with me. I spent most of my life in a depressed state, but about five times a month I had a hypomanic episode, which I loved. During these times, I was on top of the world in my head, but I looked and sounded really crazy to everyone else. At the time, I had no idea that it was a problem. Even though my  hypomania was an issue, it isn’t what put me in the hospital the second time. 

About two months before my second visit to the mental hospital, I fell into a deep depressive episode. I consider it to be my worst one yet. It all started while I was at my therapist Jason’s office during a session. I was sitting on the comfy brown couch playing with magnetic sand while talking to him about how worthless, ugly, and forgettable I felt when my phone started ringing. It was my best friend Genesis. 

Genesis is a beautiful girl with short wavy black hair, full lips, and a smile so pretty that, when you get to see it, you’ll find yourself smiling back. I met Genesis in an intensive outpatient program I was put in during the first couple months of my junior year, before all the hospital experiences. She joined the same day I did so we were the “new girls”. Neither of us spoke a single word to the rest of the group, not even to each other, for the entire first week. I could tell she didn’t want to be there just as much as I didn’t. We eventually came out of our shell and became friends along with mostly everyone else, but I only spent time with her outside of the program. One day when we went to the movies, we were talking about school and found out we went to the same school! We started meeting up during lunch hours and our friendship only went up from there. 

Genesis struggles with Borderline Personality Disorder, PTSD, and psychosis. I normally don’t answer phone calls or text messages during my sessions, but it was weird that she was calling me knowing that I was in one. I answered and proceeded to hear her sobbing while trying to tell me something. I couldn’t understand her so I told her to calm down, breathe, and try again. “Janae, I just wanted to call you and tell you goodbye. Thank you for being such a good friend and always being there for me. I love you and I’m so sorry,” she said. My heart dropped and I immediately asked her what she did. She told me she drank two cups of bleach. This was here sixth suicide attempt. I started crying and told her that I’m going to call 911, but she told me she already told her parents and the ambulance is already on the way. She didn’t think she’d make it to the hospital though. She hung up and I ran to the bathroom and cried while trying to process what just happened. I already felt super shitty and now I thought my best friend was going to die by suicide. I went back to the office and told Jason that I had to go. I went to my mom who was in the waiting room and told her that she had to take me to the hospital. We went home and got me some clothes to take with me.

I hadn’t told my therapist this, but I had a bag full of saved up painkillers in my dresser that I planned to swallow in a couple days. I knew that if I went home, I wouldn’t have waited a couple more days. I decided to save myself before I made that drastic decision. My mom took me to the emergency room where I waited seven hours in a freezing cold room for a worker from the Palo Verde Behavioral Health Facility to come and evaluate me and take me to the hospital. I was taken on a small ambulance–type vehicle, which was also cold, tied down on a stretcher. 

Once we got to the actual facility, I was pulled aside and told to change into an ugly hospital gown. They took my vitals and I was once again put in an empty cold room with a small TV on the wall. My mom and dad met me there and sat in the room with me for at least forty-five minutes. It was silent and all you could hear was the faint sound of the children’s show playing on the TV. It was such a dark time not only for myself, but my family as well. I didn’t know what to say so I just stared at the blank white ceiling until a worker came in to take me to the adolescent unit. I didn’t know how long my stay would be so when the worker came in, I gave my parents hugs and kisses and said “I’ll see ya when I see ya.” It was after midnight when I made it to the unit so everyone was sleeping. Everything was dark and empty and it was so cold I immediately got goosebumps and started shivering. Why was everything so cold? I was escorted to my room by a staff member and they slightly closed the door, leaving a creak. I layed in my uncomfortably hard bed and laid my head on the provided unstuffed pillow. I slept one hour that night. 

I hated the next six days of my stay. I felt groggy in the mornings due to the lack of sleep and the kid down the hall who was always screaming “Help me! Get away from me!” at his hallucinations. My back was always stiff due to the shitty beds as well. Everyday was extremely boring because I had made no friends, the food was disgusting, and we did the same exact activities at the same exact time every single day. I noticed that some of the kids weren’t even eating the meals and I don’t blame them. We had group therapy at 12:00, which was yet another thing that wasn’t helpful for me. I’m sure it helped the other kids, but I was in such a negative headspace about everything that it was hard for me to get anything out of it. During group therapy the staff members would ask questions about why we were taken there and if we wanted to talk about anything. If someone didn’t volunteer, they would make us talk. Don’t worry, it wasn’t in a violent way. A lot of kids actually ended up talking and I enjoyed listening to everyone’s dark life stories. There were a lot of girls who had been raped or abused by people who are supposed to love them. It made me feel less alone, but I never spoke up about my life. I’m a very quiet person. There was a girl who was covered from head to toe in cuts which made me really sad and I wanted to say something to her like “I’m going through self harm too so if you want to talk about it, don’t hesitate.”, but my anxiety got to me and I didn’t. 

So many people in the unit had attempted suicide due to trauma and whatever mental illness they had. It really baffles me when I see articles on the internet or hear people talk about how they think mental illness isn’t as serious as opposed to a physical illness. Mental illness related issues such as drug addiction, severe self harm, and eating disorders are very prevalent these days. Mental illness is serious and it kills. It almost killed me. It shouldn’t be brushed off as if it’s a minor issue. If only people saw what I’ve seen.