Theresa, this is indeed a brave post, and I wholeheartedly agree with you that people your age should be talking about mental illness. I especially appreciate your comparison to a fractured appendage. “I want people who are suffering from mental illnesses to feel the same way — to feel excited about the support and love from their fellow peers. People care about you — even if it seems like no one does.”

Unfortunately, it’s not just high schools in the Bay Area that aren’t doing enough to address these issues, it’s high schools and colleges and universities everywhere. In part it’s the “stigma around talking about” mental illness, but it’s also because many issues don’t surface until late teenage years and early adulthood. You mentioned your fist episode was at 17. According to the National Association of Mental Illness (NAMI), about 3/4 of mental health conditions emerge by age 24. Living away from home, the absence of routing, and and a whole host of other challenges college students face can also trigger dormant illnesses that previously went unnoticed or untreated.

As many college students start experiencing mental health concerns for the first time, they may not know where to go for support. So I was pleasantly surprised when you wrote, “I met the most amazing and inspiring people — people who had gone through the same shit that I had and still ended up in one piece at Stanford.” It would be helpful if you could elaborate with whom you discussed your mental health with at Stanford: other students, faculty, advisers, student services, and what advice they offered. Were there any campus organizations or clubs?

I am interested, also, to learn if you discussed Bipolar in your college admission applications. As a writing coach (http://iqsplendors.com/writing-help/), I meet a few students each year who want to discuss their mental health challenges on college application essay. A perspective on how you may have approached it may be instructive.

Lastly, I am a huge proponent of taking a gap year, and am curious to learn how you are spending this time. Looking forward to a sequel to this post.