VILLAGE C WEST — Saying there was “no way” she could hold out any longer against one of the hotter trends among the freshmen class, freshman Sarah Lancaster (COL ’18) decided Tuesday night to acquire an anxiety disorder of her own.
Noticing that many of her friends and floor mates had either come to college with an anxiety disorder or got their own since the beginning of the semester, Lancaster described to the Heckler how she felt as though this “huge missing part” of her life was holding her back from fitting in both in the classroom and in her social life.
Lancaster at the beginning of her Freshman year.
After a week of deliberation with family and friends, Lancaster announced to her floor that she will be soon be welcoming Generalized Anxiety Disorder into her life.
“Let me clear though,” said Lancaster. “I didn’t rush into this decision. I took all the facts into consideration and I did my research.”
Although she initially was opposed to the sometimes crippling mental detriments and painful psychological effects of acquiring an anxiety disorder, Lancaster said that Generalized Anxiety Disorder will “definitely” help her feel more comfortable and at home around her peers.
“I really think General Anxiety Disorder is the one for me,” said Lancaster.”There wasn’t one overarching reason about why this disorder appealed to me, there were a lot of little things which added up.”
Lancaster went on to say that she really valued how General Anxiety Disorder “didn’t require the commitment of depression and offered more consistency in my daily life than bipolarity.”
Coming from an environment substantially different from Georgetown, Lancaster said was “quite unprepared” for the popularity of anxiety disorders among the student body.
“So many people came to college already having [an anxiety disorder],” said Lancaster. “I really felt l was so inexperienced. Coming from a relatively uncompetitive public school where I was able to succeed with ease and felt established and at home I know I’m just miles behind people who came from really competitive schools that already took a huge mental toll on their students. I honestly still don’t know if I can catch up with these guys.”
Students on Lancaster’s floor offered their support for her decision.
“I remembered [Lancaster] on the first day she came college,” said her floor mate Francesca Liotta (MSB ’18). “She was quirky and unique. She didn’t have a pair of Sperrys nor a mental health issue induced by the pressure to be wildly successful in every aspect of life. Look at her blossoming now!”
Georgetown’s Counseling and Psychiatric Services (“CAPS”) declined a request for interview but did say that they were “glad” that Lancaster had “finally come around.”
Amazon reported that the anxiety disorder should be here early next week depending on shipping and Lancaster’s ability to reorient her thinking into consistently inducing higher anxiety levels.
Although she says she is committed to “taking it one step at a time” Lancaster said she would be opening to looking into adding a second anxiety disorder once she felt comfortable with her first one.