Anderson 1

Anghelle Anderson

English 7H

Bice

15 Nov. 2021

Mind Over Matter

I had never dealt with something so extreme and so damaging to both my mental and physical

health. It was something new and peculiar and I didn’t even know what it was or what was causing it. A

number of possibilities ran through my mind. An eating disorder was the most logical cause in my brain.

It wasn’t until after failed biological tests and starting therapy that I realized the true cause: anxiety. A

type of anxiety that I had never dealt with before, to the point where it was foreign to me.

Every day was a challenge as soon as I woke up. Every morning, feelings of nausea and

exhaustion overwhelmed my body, unable to even keep breakfast down. A constant pit resided in my

stomach, like a nest of wasps just waiting to burst. I was constantly in a state of fight-or-flight, finding

myself picking flight most often. I barely recognized myself anymore. The person looking back at me in

the mirror was a completely different person than who I was just a few months prior. My clothes draped

over me like they were 2 sizes too big due to the weight loss that occurred from my inability to keep a

meal down. I felt like a lost cause and that I would be stuck in this cycle forever. My mom began to worry

about me, meanwhile I shrugged it off and thought it was just something I needed to work through. The

overbearing LED lights of the doctor’s office waiting room only made me feel more tired as I waited for

the nurse to call me back. After ruling out all the physical and biological possibilities through different

tests, we soon discovered the true culprit was my mental health. My doctor recommended I see a therapist

to help me learn to cope with my anxiety, which we had determined as the cause. Starting therapy was a

struggle, often finding myself crying each session as we worked to take control of it. Eventually, I was

able to learn tools and coping mechanisms to control it and identify the causes behind it. As soon as I

could feel that something had triggered my anxiety, I could use mindfulness and grounding techniques

that I had learned to keep myself in the current moment, rather than allowing myself to stay in my head
 Anderson 2

where it would get worse. After learning to identify my personal triggers, I was able to rid myself of a few

stressors, and I learned how to control my reactions to the ones I couldn’t. After a while, I was able to

begin recovering using these tools. My anxiety was at a controllable level and my appetite started to

return, which was something I struggled with for a long time. My nerves no longer consumed my entire

being. I managed to gain a majority of my weight back and I had gained a new sense of confidence and

appreciation for everything around me.

Looking back on the progress I’ve made since then, both mentally and physically, I can certainly

see the personal growth and accomplishments I have made, even if others can’t. While it’s still something

that I still deal with on a regular basis, my anxiety doesn’t have such a tight grip on my life anymore. It is

no longer “foreign” to me, but now a familiar thing I’ve learned to adapt to and grow from.
 Anderson 3

1. What do I want to communicate? What is my main point?

How this situation helped me grow and develop a new sense of confidence and appreciation for
everything around me.
2. What part do I think is most effective? What is my favorite part?
My favorite part is my intro and I think that it’s the most effective.
3. What could be developed more? Where do I need help?
I think I need to develop my personal thoughts and add more imagery and slow down the story
and add more detail/better word choices
4. What might be overdone? Where might I need to edit down my work?

May need to reduce the chain of events in the second paragraph

Responses

1. What is the main idea?

Overcoming a difficult and crippling situation and your recovery from it
2. What is most clear/effective about this piece?
Transition between struggles and recovery, intro
3. What do you want to know more about?
More imagery and detail on recovery, focus more on recovery and who helped you overcome, add
specifics
4. What is the most interesting phrase, line, or word? Which sentences/paragraphs seem well
crafted?
Wasps nest metaphor, intro was most well crafted
5. Where does the author overdo it? Where could he/she/they edit down her work?

Easily forgettable, underdid rather than overdid, expand more on imagery