Opinion

SHOHAM GEVA
EDITOR IN CHIEF

CLAIRE BRYAN 

AND REGAN DETWILER 
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS

LAURA SCHINAGLE
MANAGING EDITOR

420 Maynard St. 

Ann Arbor, MI 48109

 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at 

the University of Michigan since 1890.

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s editorial board. 

All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Thursday, January 14, 2016

O

n an average day, I leave 
my apartment at 8 a.m. 
and walk to my 9 a.m. 

class 
that 
is 

located 
roughly 

10 minutes away 
from where I live, 
15 if I’m walking 
slowly. More often than not, when I 
reach the halfway point to my des-
tination, I start to worry if I forgot 
class materials or if I locked the door. 
I shrug my backpack off my shoul-
der and dig through it to see if I have 
everything. I do. I always do, because 
I always pack my backpack the night 
before to make sure that I don’t for-
get anything. Even though I know I 
have everything that I could possibly 
need, I check anyways. Ok, phew, I 
have everything.

But did I lock the door?
I then backtrack to my apart-

ment to make sure I remembered to 
lock the door — and I did, because I 
always do. I rustle the bronze knob 
of the door a few times to reassure 
myself that I had, in fact, locked it. I 
restart my journey to class, but still 
arrive more than 20 minutes early, 
which is my version of being on time. 
I am constantly worried about arriv-
ing late to class. 

There are days when I am expect-

ed to contribute to group discussion 
in class. When it is my turn to speak, 
my heart races and my skin blotches. 
Words fall out of my mouth at 100 
miles a minute. I know that no one is 
judging me, but I become frustrated 
because it’s impossible for me to 
slow down and collect my thoughts. 
Creating coherent responses seems 
impossible. The nervousness never 
ends, and I have accepted it as a part 
of my life and my identity. General-
ized anxiety disorder impacts my 
daily routine and my everyday life.

Students across campus are affect-

ed by generalized anxiety disorder 
(GAD). While some students are all 
too familiar with generalized anxi-
ety, I have noticed that others may 
have misconceptions about general-
ized anxiety, or may have not been 

exposed to the concept of general-
ized anxiety before college. I hope 
that my perspective on GAD can 
prove to be helpful to those who may 
be affected by GAD, and interesting 
to those who are curious about gen-
eralized anxiety.

Expressing a small amount of 

anxiety isn’t a bad thing, and expe-
riencing anxiety is common when 
faced with a critical or stressful 
situation. As described by the Anx-
iety and Depression Association of 
America, people with GAD display 
excessive worry about everyday 
things, such as health, family or 
work. Individuals with GAD may 
not be able to perform their normal 
routine. For example, some people 
may be unable to rest or accomplish 
daily tasks because their anxiety is 
so severe. There are diverse treat-
ment plans for GAD; some plans 
include medication and some do 
not. People express anxiety differ-
ently, so it is important to under-
stand that not everyone shares the 
same symptoms for GAD.

I would like to address a miscon-

ception about generalized anxiety 
that I have encountered on campus. 
A common piece of advice that I 
have overheard being given to some-
one who is affected by GAD goes as 
follows: “Your schedule is causing 
your anxiety.” It is true that anxiety 
is a heavy weight tethered to a stu-
dent, and it is true that it may hold 
a student back from performing his 
or her best in social or academic 
situations, but academics and social 
situations are not the cause of GAD, 
even though they may accentuate 
expressed symptoms. GAD is caused 
by brain chemistry or genetics.

Initially, I was discouraged from 

seeking treatment. In my experience, 
because my mental illness wasn’t a 
visible ailment, it wasn’t taken seri-
ously. I was told to put my big girl 
pants on, to push through it. The sec-
ond semester of my freshman year, 
I pushed myself to the point where 
I couldn’t perform everyday activi-
ties. So, I scheduled an appointment 

with my primary care physician. 
The appointment proved to be help-
ful, and I feel that my condition has 
improved with treatment.

I feel that anxiety has been so 

normalized across the nation that it 
is hard for students to seek the right 
treatment or to tell the difference 
between a normal amount of anxi-
ety and general anxiety disorder. 
It often takes a long time for some-
one with GAD to come to the point 
where he or she is comfortable seek-
ing help, and even then the quality 
of help that he or she can receive is 
very limited to the type of insurance 
that he or she possesses. 

I would like to commend the Uni-

versity Counseling and Psychological 
Services for its services and com-
mitment to helping students. In the 
future, I hope CAPS will work on 
providing more available psychiatric 
services to students as anxiety is a 
pressing issue on campus.

While I encourage students to 

visit CAPS for an initial consulta-
tion, I recommend they find a pri-
mary care physician in Ann Arbor if 
at all possible. CAPS services are in 
high demand, and, in my experience, 
students will be able to receive help 
more quickly if they visit a therapist, 
psychiatrist or other specialist that is 
recommended to them by a primary 
care doctor. 

It is never too early to ask for help 

if you feel overwhelmed with school, 
work or anything in general. I think 
the most important thing to remem-
ber is that everyone exhibits differ-
ent symptoms of mental illnesses, 
and every student should feel com-
fortable asking for help no matter 
the severity of his or her symptoms. 
I hope mental health services will 
start to become more widely avail-
able as more people acknowledge 
the reciprocal relationship between 
mental and physical wellness — 
which both have equal influence on a 
person’s overall well-being.

—Hannah Maier can be reached 

at hannamai@umich.edu.

Coping with GAD

E-mail michEllE at shEngmi@umich.Edu
MICHELLE SHENG

Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Caitlin Heenan, 

Jeremy Kaplan, Ben Keller, Minsoo Kim, Payton Luokkala, 

Aarica Marsh, Anna Polumbo-Levy, Jason Rowland, 

Lauren Schandevel, Melissa Scholke, Rebecca Tarnopol, 

Ashley Tjhung, Stephanie Trierweiler, 

Mary Kate Winn, Derek Wolfe

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

As the cheers of football season fade and 

the holiday lights dim, the winter semester is 
upon us. For many of us, a new semester comes 
with heaping amounts of stress. Unfortunately, 
stress is this University. Student life can be 
overwhelming when trying to balance school, 
work and a social life, all while trying to be a 
“leader” and “best” at everything.

Stress has become so integral to campus cul-

ture that its harmful effects can sometimes be 
overlooked. According to a 2010 UCLA study, 
the reported emotional health levels of Ameri-
can college students are at a “record low.” 
Furthermore, it is particularly disturbing that 
college students are the least likely group to ask 
for help regarding mental health issues. The 
silence on mental health has become a danger-
ous norm and only perpetuates the problem.

Wolverine Support Network is a student 

organization that strives to directly combat the 
silent mindset on mental health. Over the past 
two semesters, Wolverine Support Network 
has directed a total of 21 weekly confidential 
peer-to-peer groups that have fostered discus-
sion on mental health.

“It is one hour a week where students can 

talk about what they need to and know that 
they will feel welcomed,” Cheyenne Stone, 
director of marketing for WSN, said.

Contrary to some misconceptions about 

the organization, the weekly groups are not 
therapy sessions. Though the WSN leaders 
are trained weekly by Counseling and Psy-
chological Services, the purpose of groups 
is to build relationships and start the con-
versation on mental health. Likewise, the 
group discussions are open to all and are not 
only reserved for students with diagnosed 
psychological problems.

Having been a group leader since WSN’s 

inception, I consider the weekly groups to be 
like an open forum. WSN offers a rare opportu-
nity in this gigantic university to truly under-
stand a few students on a deeper, intimate level. 

“I want to have WSN be a release for stu-

dents; somewhere they can go and to decom-
press and feel good about where they are at in 
life,” Alex Gaggino, director of outreach for 
WSN, said.

Though the groups can be a space to talk 

about anxiety, depression and the stresses 
of student life, groups are not limited to 
those topics.

“Our WSN groups are a chance for people 

to either say, ‘You know what, it was a really 
hard week,’ but also a place where you can 
take a step back and say, ‘Wow look at all these 
awesome things I’m doing,’ ” Gaggino said. 

Each group is a space to reflect; a refresh-

ing change from fast-paced, stressful stu-
dent life.

To date, WSN has raised $80,000 to fur-

ther its cause to destigmatize mental health 
and establish itself as a strong, supportive 
community resource on campus. Last year, 
WSN worked in partnership with Active 
Minds for the Send Silence Packing event 
and with the Depression Center for the 
Defeat Depression Dash 5K. WSN continues 
to collaborate with other mental wellness 
organizations, and the directors of WSN 
will be panelists for the University Mental 
Health Symposium this semester.

Whether you are experiencing emotional 

difficulty this semester, want to meet new 
people or simply want someone to talk to, 
Wolverine Support Network is a resource 
available to you. We are founded on the motto 
“because life happens” because we believe 
everyone is entitled to a support system.

“I see WSN being a resource on campus 

that all students are aware of and a majority of 
students utilize,” Stone said. “We are a com-
munity that promotes wellness and friend-
ship, and I see this community flourishing on 
the University of Michigan campus.”

This was written on behalf of the Wolverine 

Support Network by Rachel Johns, a member 

of the group’s Outreach Comittee. 

WSN: Supporting students

RACHEL JOHN | OP-ED

HANNAH 
MAIER

T

he most important con-
versation I’ve had since 
coming to college hap-

pened my sopho-
more year in my 
friend Kim’s clut-
tered dorm room. 
We were drink-
ing tea: me out 
of a mug shaped like Kanye West’s 
head, her out of a toilet mug. Some-
how Reaganomics — the Reagan 
administration’s policy of govern-
ment deregulation coupled with 
cuts to taxes and spending — came 
up in conversation, and we began 
discussing how effective they were. 
Eventually, we came to an impasse 
where neither of us knew enough 
about the subject to really continue 
the discussion. Thus, we did what 
any intrepid college student would 
have done: We took out our iPhones 
and began trying to discover the 
effects of Reaganomics.

Like 
any 
good 
liberal, 
Kim 

Googled “negative effects of supply-
side economics,” and I, like any good 
contrarian, searched for the “posi-
tive effects supply-side economics.” 
We threw statistics about economic 
growth and happiness indexes back 
and forth until we realized this 
wasn’t a fruitful conversation. Nei-
ther of us were proficient in eco-
nomics, so we couldn’t parse the raw 
data ourselves, and instead we tried 
to simply find arguments that sup-
ported our views. Instead of trying 
to have an open conversation, both 
of us were more interested in prov-
ing we were right.

Obviously, people are going to 

disagree with ideas that run coun-
ter to their opinions. What made 
this conversation so enlightening 
was the realization that we self-
censored information with which 
we didn’t agree. This intentional 
selection of information limits our 
ability to discover the truth about 
how the world works.

Researchers refer to this purpose-

ful selection of information as a type 
of cognitive bias. Cognitive biases 
can manifest themselves in other 
insidious ways. Consider global 
warming. Many environmentalists 
assume that if more people under-
stood the science behind climate 
change, more people would believe 
it’s happening. Fundamentally, this 
makes sense. If you explain to some-
one how the Earth cannot be flat, 
they will (hopefully) stop believ-
ing it’s flat. Unfortunately, this isn’t 
the case. A recent study by Dan M. 
Kahan at Yale University shows that 
conservatives who have a greater 
understanding of science are less 
likely to believe in global warming 
than conservatives who are less flu-
ent in science. The more information 
a person has, the more someone can 
twist that information to confirm 
their preexisting beliefs. This gets 
back to the heart of the Reaganom-
ics discussion. If a deeply liberal 
person had a wealth of knowledge 
about supply-side economics, they 
would be much more likely to reject 
its utility. Similarly, if an arch-
conservative had the same amount 
of information, they might over-
state the power of supply-side eco-
nomics and staunchly support its 
implementation, regardless of the 
economic context.

This bias is exacerbated when we 

surround ourselves with like-mind-
ed people. The conflict between 
Israel and Palestine is one of the 
most contentious on Earth. It there-
fore shouldn’t be a surprise that 
when one researcher graphed how 
Palestinians and Israelis used social 
media, there was almost no interac-
tion between the two groups. This 
increases polarization between pro-
Israel and pro-Palestinian groups 
and makes it more difficult to reach 
consensus. Thus, intergroup inter-
action happens less frequently and 
doesn’t affect change as much. 
When I see a discussion between 
the prominent conservative thinker 

Dinesh D’Souza and the anti-war 
activist Bill Ayers billed as a “show-
down,” or see people tweeting they 
are part of team Ayers, I worry that 
a similar phenomenon has happened 
at the University. This is one of the 
few formal discussions between 
liberal and conservative thinkers. 
We aren’t interested in learning 
about differences between these 
two ideologues. Instead, we want 
our opinions to be vindicated.

Maybe some of my peers aren’t 

worried about this. Many students 
at the University might say they are 
open to discourse. But when the time 
comes for open debate, we twist our 
facts to prove our point rather than 
risk changing our views. I’m very 
liberal, but I don’t reject all conser-
vative beliefs a priori. Since coming 
to college, I’ve come to understand 
the merit of some strains of conser-
vative thought. That’s a key part of 
going to college: engaging with the 
other. If we continue down this path, 
these engagements will be less valu-
able and less frequent. That isn’t the 
sort of university I envision when I 
think of “the leaders and the best.”

There are a couple of ways to 

tackle this issue. The first: actively 
engage people who disagree with 
you. Don’t try to win an argument, 
try to understand the beliefs that 
underpin other people’s worldview. 
Secondly, research has shown that 
being aware you hold these biases 
can limit their power. The Univer-
sity should incorporate lessons about 
cognitive biases into English 124/125 
courses, helping students evalu-
ate arguments only on their merit. 
There’s a lot of work to be done to 
disrupt our biases, but it’s reward-
ing; by removing our biases, we can 
create a more intellectually nurtur-
ing environment at the University 
and become more thoughtful, holis-
tic thinkers.

—Roland Davidson can be 

reached at mhenryda@umich.edu.

Don’t try to win an argument

ROLAND 
DAVIDSON

