Six weeks before my departure for the UK, I met my college’s Director of Counseling and Psychological Services for the first time; I didn’t even know her name until she emailed me. A meeting was in order to discuss the support I would need while abroad. Just two months after my acceptance into Oxford, my mental health took a rapid decline, despite years of symptom management for what I thought was depression. I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, and had to completely rework my treatment methods, a process which required just as much hard work as maintaining my academic standing.
This is an example of the unfortunate stigma surrounding mental illness, particularly of Borderline Personality Disorder. While it is a manageable condition, BPD is notorious for its unpredictability, and is most commonly diagnosed among young women on the cusp of adulthood. There are a variety of symptoms, ranging from unstable interpersonal relationships to suicidal tendencies. Being that these symptoms often mimic those of mood disorders, it was not an uncommon occurrence for me to be misdiagnosed with depression.
Rather than accommodating me, the Director treated my illness as a liability. She did not take the steps to understand me as a holistic individual, but instead saw the red flag of my diagnosis and resolved to take the “safe route” by barring me from the program altogether. Without proper familiarity, those not only with BPD but with any serious mental illness are often not afforded the same opportunities as their neurotypical counterparts, even when they are able to keep their symptoms at bay.
While I still fear the possible barriers of publicly claiming BPD, I know that my story serves as proof that students with mental illness are capable of rigorous challenges with the proper accommodations and support. As we grow more accepting of the reality of mental illness, we must elevate voices at an individual level. We must listen to the firsthand accounts of those who have a mental illness, to hear what they see as barriers to success, and help them to break down those barriers. By taking intentional steps towards inclusion, we can help weaken the stigma of mental illness as an inhibitor to opportunity.
Alison Ferrante received her BA from Sarah Lawrence in 2019. She currently lives in New York and will begin law school in the Fall of 2020 to study Public Interest Law.