Hello,
My name is Ovsanna, and I am a first-year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student at the University of Delaware. Even though I look like a happy-go-lucky person, some people do not know that I've had some obstacles in my life.
I've had social anxiety (of public speaking) since the age of 18, from a bunch of events in my life. I didn't realize that I had this anxiety until I started my undergraduate term, when I started eating less, throwing up and not enjoying my hobbies or activities. Once I started seeing a psychologist, I got a little better, transferred from community college to university, graduated with my bachelors and got accepted into a Master's program in Clinical Psychology.
During the duration of the Master's program I had a lot of anxiety attacks with all the public speaking opportunities, along with going through my newly experienced traumatic events in my life that made me feel inadequate and hopeless. As a result, I started seeing another psychologist, who helped me with loving myself, as well as managing my anxiety. As a result, I started to give more public presentations in classes, professional conferences, and other settings. Also, I applied to 20 Ph.D. programs and got accepted to (and am attending) one of the best programs for the field of clinical psychology.
I hope that my story shows that even though people are going through so many obstacles in their life, they can find their happiness, pursue what they are passionate about, and have a better quality of life.
Author: @armoscholar