How Law School Helped My Anxiety

When I first chose to go to law school, one of my biggest worries was how it would affect my mental health. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety when I was in fifth grade, and it's been a journey to become comfortable with my mental health since then.

I already knew that law school is tough on anybody who goes through it, so it's natural that adding depression and anxiety to the mix might make things a bit more difficult. I made sure I was prepared to deal with anything that might come up while figuring what law school is all about.

Oddly enough, law school hasn't done anything crazy to my mental health. Obviously, there has been plenty of stress due to the long hours of studying and the long hours of figuring out what the heck res judicata is. But, I'm feeling really great mentally.

I think it might have something to do with being so comfortable and happy in law school. There's something special about being surrounded by people who are going through the same struggles as you and care as much about their grades and succeeding in school as I do. Many times while in undergrad, I would question if I was too worried about my grades compared to other people in my class. I would get anxious about what to do, and then I'd get anxious about worrying too much, and the cycle would continue.

Now that I'm surrounded by many more like-minded people, I don't set stuck in those thought loops as often. In addition, law school makes me face my fears about public speaking and letting my opinion be known. I've always been one to push myself to do things that put me in front of others, which is why I found doing theater in high school to be so helpful. You can't avoid speaking in front of your classmates in law school, so the more I do that, the more comfortable I become.

Of course, this might just be something that occurs with my mental health. And maybe it's only something that's happening right now while I'm still figuring out what it means to be a law student.

One thing that I know helps me is that I know how to deal with my mental health. I used to believe it was something that would just get better later on in life, but now I know that it's an ongoing rollercoaster of sorts. So far, I'm proud of myself for choosing to take on my mental health while tackling the challenges of law school.

xoxo,

Rachel