Jazmin Overcomes Depression and Anxiety Thanks to YES
When Jazmine returned to YES in the summer of 2016, she was feeling depressed, and thinking about suicide and self-harm. She had already started experimenting with drugs to cope with a difficult family life. When school started in the fall, she struggled with motivation and started skipping regularly. For the first time, her straight-A GPA was flagging. Then she was in a car accident and developed a severe phobia related to cars, to the extent that she struggled with panic attacks just walking through the school parking lot.
But Jazmine’s motivation to work through her issues was strong, and she regularly attended therapy knowing there had to be a solution. Working with her YES counselor, Noble, she learned to monitor her anxiety and to manage the symptoms with both cognitive and movement techniques. Her counselor helped her learn about healthy boundaries and coached her on how to set those boundaries in ways that helped her deal with stress at home without damaging her family relationships.
After some time, Jazmine was able to stop using drugs and regained her love for school and learning. With education about mental health and careful coaching, she was able to work through her car-related phobia, to the point where she even took a couple of driving lessons with friends.
Jazmine graduated high school this past June. She was accepted at the University of Portland where she will attend this fall on a partial scholarship to pursue her passion in environmental science.
“I’ve always imagined living a dream life, but I never thought I’d actually get to. It’s scary but also really exciting, and I feel unstoppable,” said Jazmine.
Her counselor Noble has been honored to work with Jazmine over the past couple years, “She’s inspired me with how much work she’s put in to ‘getting better.’ When her depression and anxiety tried to overwhelm her and make her feel powerless, she pushed through, worked her skills, and reminded me of the importance of the work we do at Y.E.S.”
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