20 | JUNE 4 • 2020 

The Power 
 to Help 
Yourself

How one young adult found 
peace with anxiety and 
depression.

JENNA ANDERSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Jews in the D

W

hen Lauren Schostak was a 
sophomore in high school, she 
had coffee with Rabbi Yarden 
Blumstein, a teen mentor at UMatter, and 
he knew something wasn’
t right.
“He could tell I wasn’
t myself,
” she said.
A year later, after going to an inpatient 
program for anxiety and depression, 
Schostak, now 18, shared her story of 
recovery at UMatter’
s One Thing I Wish 
You Knew event in 2019. UMatter is a pro-
gram focused on empowering teens to shat-
ter the stigmas surrounding mental health 
challenges. 
Schostak started experiencing panic 
attacks when she was 10 years old. 
“I didn’
t know what to call it,
” she said. “I 
had this overwhelming physical and mental 
feeling, especially in social situations.
” 
She had been a perfectionist from an 
early age, which caused her anxiety because, 
without realizing it, she was also struggling 
with an undiagnosed learning disability.
“It was very challenging for me,
” she said. 
“When things weren’
t clicking for me in 
school, it was even more frustrating.
”
Teasing for her petite frame added to her 
childhood struggles.
“I felt very targeted,
” she said.
The transition to high school at Frankel 
Jewish Academy was hard for Schostak. She 
was thankful to receive support after being 
diagnosed with social anxiety and a learn-

ing disability, but it didn’
t help her mental 
state. Schostak found herself not wanting to 
do anything.
“I was afraid it wasn’
t going to be perfect,
” 
she said. “I ended up isolating myself. I got 
into this very depressive state. Anxiety and 
depression went hand in hand for me.
”
Schostak was admitted to an inpatient 
program in February 2018. She stayed for 
about two weeks and was treated with a 
team of doctors and new therapies. 
“I look back on it and think about its 
benefits but, in the moment, it was very 
hard for me,
” Schostak said. “I felt like it 
was an intervention. Honestly, I just wanted 
to go home.
”
Schostak’
s biggest takeaway from treat-
ment was the courage to advocate for her-
self.
“I was sick and tired of being depressed 
and anxious all the time. If you don’
t want 
to get better yourself, nothing’
s going to 
change,
” she said. “That was a breakthrough 
moment for me. I was the one who had the 
power to help myself.
”
Schostak used this strength to make 
a major change in her life. She told her 
parents FJA was not the right school for 
her. They listened and, in the fall of 2018, 
she started her junior year at Berkley
High School.
“I have nothing bad to say about FJA,
” 
she added. “It was just a little too small

for me.
”
After starting to advocate for herself, 
Schostak found a passion for mental health. 
She spoke out about her experience with 
mental illness and became involved with 
UMatter. 
“It has brought a purpose to my life,
” she 
said. “I might be little and quiet, but I’
m 
more than that. I’
m not afraid to speak up.
”
With the help of a friend, Schostak 
brought a UMatter club to Berkley High 
School in 2020, which she considers to be 
one of her biggest accomplishments. Only 
five schools in Metro Detroit have clubs.
“We really just wanted to create a com-
munity at our school that was open to 
talking about mental health because it 
shouldn’
t be stigmatized,
” she added.
Schostak will be attending Lyman Briggs 
College at Michigan State University to 
study neuroscience in the fall. She said her 
experience with mental illness has given her 
a passion for the brain and how it works. 
“I definitely wanted to be an advocate for 
mental health in college and for the rest of 
my life,
” she said. “Dealing with mental ill-
ness is a process. Nothing’
s going to change 
overnight. I still deal with anxious thoughts 
on a daily basis. I’
ve learned ways to cope 
with that.
” 

This is the second in a four-part series on teens 

who’
ve triumphed over mental health issues.

COURTESY OF LAUREN SCHOSTAK

Schostak speaking 
at One Thing I 
Wish You Knew 
event in 2019.

