Taking Form!

Monday, January 11th, 2021 - Sunday, January 17th, 2021

I have gotten a week into my original work and have enjoyed it immensely! I do feel that my original work is straying a bit off the path of just psychiatry but I am learning more about mental health in general and about my home country of India. I have been able to learn more about mental health in adolescents, such as what stimuli at school, like romantic relationships, stress for life after school, family problems, etc. can cause stress in students. This is something I can personally relate to because I have had a fair share of these stresses and have many peers who I have seen struggle with these problems. It is refreshing to see the profound impact I can have on others through this original work and this has been my main motivator! I was able to draft a one-pager towards the end of the week on how the education system would have a program implemented, dealing in counseling and self-care as students progress through the system.

Along with this, I learned more about depression and how medicine can help deal with this illness. One part of psychiatry that I want to learn much more about is the medical side, specifically the various pills and medicine that are prescribed to patients. I feel that having a basic understanding of the most commonly used medications can help me substantially as I enter medical school. In my research on severe depression, I delved into the effects that this mental illness can have on people and the various symptoms to look out for. I also got to learn about therapies that are used, like psychotherapy and even Electroconvulsive therapy. (ECT)

In conclusion, I felt this week was a very productive one, as I was able to document 3.5 hours of work on my final product. I have started to really feel the independence that comes with ISM and this freedom will help me grow in ways that I did not think would be possible.