Adversity Essay Topic Ideas

[girlunobserved]

Hi, been brainstorming a couple of ideas:

- overcoming social anxiety over the course of ~10 years (started as the weird girl reading books in the corner of a classroom and then migrated to being someone that could talk to anyone by the end of college)

- growing up in an area that had security issues (school was bombed etc).

The only reason I don't want to use the second one is that I didn't do anything. I just kept going you know? Also - my diversity essay is about the location where I grew up and so is my personal statement, so I kind of want to add some more depth than "Oh I grew up in the third world and it shaped who I am today"

Just wondering if the first one even COUNTS as an adversity.

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[deleted862527]

I wouldn't use social anxiety. Putting recovery from mental health issues in your essay is not advised by admissions counselors, especially on SDN. This is because medical school increases the likeliness of students developing mental health issues, such as anxiety or depression, due to the intense rigorous demands and curriculum.

I feel as though you should elaborate more on your second selection. You must have overcame some challenge if you claim, "I just kept going, you know?" I don't quite understand what it was you overcame, so please elaborate.


Best!

 

[girlunobserved]

I wouldn't use social anxiety. Putting recovery from mental health issues in your essay is not advised by admissions counselors, especially on SDN. This is because medical school increases the likeliness of students developing mental health issues, such as anxiety or depression, due to the intense rigorous demands and curriculum.

I feel as though you should elaborate more on your second selection. You must have overcame some challenge if you claim, "I just kept going, you know?" I don't quite understand what it was you overcame, so please elaborate.


Best!

Idk - i just felt that social anxiety wasn't really the same spectrum of mental health issues as depression, especially since I've already suffered through that. It was going to talk more of how I started to open up to people more, and stopped caring what everyone would think of me if I sat a certain way or ate a certain way - and in the process finding what I liked to do rather than what people wanted me to do.

And with the second one - I see what you're saying and it's the same problem I'm having. It's not really overcoming something because I didn't do anything. The security issues in my country got really bad, but I just got acclimatized to it and accepted it as a part of life. The only time I would even tlak about something that I had to majorly adjust to would be giving my exams during a time of extreme unrest or still going to school even if the only functioning classrooms were in the basement because of the attack on it.

 

[FroYoOreo]

Idk - i just felt that social anxiety wasn't really the same spectrum of mental health issues as depression, especially since I've already suffered through that. It was going to talk more of how I started to open up to people more, and stopped caring what everyone would think of me if I sat a certain way or ate a certain way - and in the process finding what I liked to do rather than what people wanted me to do.

And with the second one - I see what you're saying and it's the same problem I'm having. It's not really overcoming something because I didn't do anything. The security issues in my country got really bad, but I just got acclimatized to it and accepted it as a part of life. The only time I would even tlak about something that I had to majorly adjust to would be giving my exams during a time of extreme unrest or still going to school even if the only functioning classrooms were in the basement because of the attack on it.

If I were adcom I wouldn’t bet giving one seat to someone who had social anxiety disorder. To be a physician, you have to talk to people you don’t know all day (except a few specialty). Why risk it?

 

[girlunobserved]

If I were adcom I wouldn’t bet giving one seat to someone who had social anxiety disorder. To be a physician, you have to talk to people you don’t know all day (except a few specialty). Why risk it?

I mean, I haven't had it for a while now - which was the whole point. Like the journey to be able to talk to random strangers and get out of my shell.

What do you think about the second one though?

 

[FroYoOreo]

I mean, I haven't had it for a while now - which was the whole point. Like the journey to be able to talk to random strangers and get out of my shell.

What do you think about the second one though?

Again, mental health issues have a very high relapse rate and high commorbidity rate, and adcom know it. That’s why people with depression, eating disorder, schizophrenia don’t write about it. Because it is risky whether you have truly overcome it or not.
The second one is okay in my opinion.

 

[CCresearcher]

I like the social anxiety idea (not all social anxiety is a social anxiety disorder, FYI) but just to be safe I’d call it shyness instead of anxiety. You can talk about how you were always self conscious in social settings/painfully shy and how you turned into a social butterfly. Just make it clear that it’s all in the past!