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