Sophia’s story: Finding renewed purpose in life after struggling with mental illness

“Every day, I’d wake up and feel completely hopeless. I didn’t see much future in front of me. I felt like nothing was going to get better. I tried to end my life. But I realized I was stronger than I thought I was.”

When 18-year-old Sophia Juhas reflects on her life today, it’s the complete opposite of what it used to be. She sees her life and future through a different lens – a positive one filled with hope and purpose.

Reaching this high point in her mental health journey would not have been possible without the care and support she received from her Behavioral Health Center team at Children’s Hospital New Orleans.

“The staff and program saved me,” said Sophia. “By sharing my story, I want to inspire others who are struggling with mental health to know they are not alone, and they are much stronger than they think.”

My journey with mental illness

“As a child, I struggled with constant anxiety and depression,” said Sophia. “Every single day, I would wake up and it would be draining just to live. It was so hard for me to get out of bed in the morning.”

Dealing with her parents’ separation, school, and life in general, didn’t make things easier. As much as she tried to control her negative thoughts, her anxiety and depression hit hard; it would come in waves.

“It felt like I was wearing a 100-pound trench coat on my back at all times,” said Sophia. “It was just a very heavy feeling.”

When Sophia was in fifth grade, her mother was involved in a serious car accident. From that point on, she feared something tragic would happen to her mom or a family member when she was away from them, which made it harder to focus on school even though she was an intelligent student. Her anxiety and depression took complete control of her. She began to lose interest in things she once enjoyed.

“I was really good at dancing – I was in competitive dance – but I lost interest,” said Sophia. “I spent more time at home because I felt safe there. I had fun activities planned with my friends and I would cancel on them because I got so worked up and told myself that they wouldn’t want me there anyway.”

Then, in January 2021, Sophia hit the lowest of lows.

“I started having suicidal thoughts and thoughts of self-harm,” said Sophia. “I was living in a black hole that I could not get out of. I wanted to end my pain. My mom was worried about me. She took me to a psychiatrist who prescribed anti-anxiety medications. It helped but not as much as I needed them to.”

The psychiatrist suggested Sophia seek care at the Behavioral Health Center at Children’s Hospital, the only psychiatric program in the Gulf coast region exclusively dedicated to the mental health care needs of children and adolescents in crisis. The program provides resources and expertise to help patients get their lives back and to empower them to develop healthy life skills to improve their future quality of life.

A turning point in my recovery

In January 2022, Sophia was admitted to the Behavioral Health Center. During her six days there, she learned more about herself and how to manage her emotional responses to anxiety and depression.

“We specifically worked on a lot of coping strategies because dealing with anxiety was sort of new to me,” said Sophia. “I had developed my own coping skills but not the ones that were proven to work. I met people with anxiety disorders and depression who were just like me, and people with more severe diagnoses. We worked in small and large groups. We did music therapy and art therapy together. The nurses and staff made me feel comfortable as I could be in the hospital. I also made new friends there.”

After treatment, Sophia returned to school but a few weeks into it, the stress was too much for her to handle. She felt very unsettled, at which point, her mother, doctor, and school administrators decided it would be best for Sophia to take a homeschool program until she could develop her social skills again.

After five months of homeschooling, Sophia was determined to finish up her junior year and went back to school in May. She looked forward to the senior ring ceremony. She was class president at the time and she wanted to be there to represent her class. But the pressures were just too difficult to bear. It sent her back into an anxious and depressed state which caused her to go back to the hospital again.

“I went back in May,” said Sophia. “At the Behavioral Health Center, the staff always treated me like an actual person. I was treated as Sophia with anxiety and depression, and not just anxiety and depression. That was important to me. I was treated with care. Dr. Campbell was outstanding. She met with me every day and listened and addressed my concerns. Nurse Mark was outstanding. He made me laugh even though I wasn’t feeling well. He was also somebody that I felt very comfortable talking to. By the time I left the hospital for the second time, I felt empowered. I could see a bright future ahead of me.”

Living my life with purpose
 

Sophia has so much to look forward to. She will graduate from Haynes Academy in May, and will attend Tulane University in the Fall as a sociology major. Despite her mental health struggles, she says she has found her calling: helping people in the same way her care team helped her. She continues to advocate on behalf of people struggling with mental health issues to show there is hope and life does get better.

To reduce the stigma around mental illness, Sophia talks openly about mental health when given the opportunity. Recently, she shared her mental health story on the Children’s Hospital Radiothon. She also is working with her public school district to raise awareness about mental health concerns and the need to improve mental health programs in schools to ensure every student’s health care needs are met.

“We need to improve mental health in schools,” said Sophia. “Too much emphasis is placed on academic performance and test scores. I think more efforts should be devoted towards improving mental health. You have to take care of students’ mental health care needs first in order for them to do well in school.”

Sophia says mental illness should be treated just like any disease. There are so many people who are afraid to reach out for help because of being called “weird” or “crazy.” While Sophia lost many friends due to her mental illness, she has gained new friends who understand her and where she came from.
 

“I know it feels like nothing is going to get better, but it will,” said Sophia. “If you are looking for a sign, this is your sign. You are not alone, and there are people out there that you can lean on for support.”
 

Learn more about Children’s Hospital’s Behavioral Health Center here >>