Rachel began to consider seeking psychiatric help beyond therapy once she realized how powerful her depression was getting.
“They thought about it at one point, but I was thinking, no, I don’t want to go and I’m fine. And then as soon as I started feeling as bad as I was, I knew that that was probably going to be the safest thing for me to do, that I tell my parents,” Rachel said. “And I talked to my therapist, and she agreed that it would just be the safest thing for me to do, because they just wanted to make sure that I was not a danger to myself or anyone around me.”
Once Rachel decided to express her concerns to her parents, they quickly reacted with care.
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As soon as I started feeling as bad as I was, I knew that that was probably going to be the safest thing for me to do, that I tell my parents.”
— Rachel Wilson
“To be completely honest, when Rachel first told me how she was thinking/feeling, I was shocked,” Amy said. “I wanted to cry but I knew there was no time for that and she needed help immediately. She slept with me that night and the next morning I made an appointment for her to see her therapist.”
After Rachel met with her therapist, she was then admitted into Seay Behavioral Health Center, where she was not the only one affected.
“I was really scared because being her sister, I always have been there for lots of things in her life,” sister, Natalie said. “And her having to go somewhere and be away from me for something like that, I didn’t know what was going to happen to her. It was almost terrifying, because I couldn’t stop worrying because I knew that she had been in a sad place, and I couldn’t do anything to help.”
However the people at Seay Behavioral Health Center could help even though Rachel was unsure what to expect.
“When I was first admitted I basically just thought that I was gonna be around a lot of people that had more severe issues than I did,” Rachel said. “And that I was going to be at a place with what people deem as crazy people, but it was more like a lot of the people there were the same people I was.”
As Rachel was receiving help, her family was trying to cope at home.
“She did not initially want anyone to know where she was,” Amy said. “Other than her sister and her dad, who were dealing with this too, there was no one I could talk to about what was going on. I completely respected her desire for privacy, but it was difficult to completely compartmentalize and go through my day behaving as though my heart wasn’t broken for my girl. Ultimately, I was relieved that we had a relationship where she came to me knowing her dad and I would do whatever it took to help her and I felt that she was where she needed to be.”
For Rachel, her time in the hospital allowed her to get professional assistance that taught her skills to deal with triggers in the future.
“Basically I just learned how little I needed to be alright,” Rachel said. “We didn’t have any phones. The only electronics we had was the TV while we were eating. It was just the little things like that. We did group therapies and we did one on ones. Basically, I just learned a lot of coping skills. Just help for when I start getting anxious. I just realized all the things I like to do are coping mechanisms for when I’m feeling stressed, or when I’m feeling really anxious.’’
One of the best Wingspan articles I’ve ever seen. Bravo to your staff! And huge respect and admiration to Rachel and her family. What a gift they have given us all by sharing their story.
A great piece: well written and with a lot of useful information and accurate research. Congratulations!!
Great article. Very well written and above all very human. It is very important to hear all the people in the family. Rachel’s courage and testimony can help many people. Congratulations to the author.
Congratulations. This article helps all the young girls to understand differently all the how complex that stage of life can be for them. Touching and close but with great informative value. Thank you
Querida Ana:Te felicito,además que escribes muy bien,lo laces tratando un tema muy actual de salud mental del que poco se trata en público,sigue así y ayudarás a la gente a leer lo que desean ver escrito:::Busos tío Carlos y AGUR