Mental Illness a Problem?

[ILoveChickenNuggets]

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[workofshart]

I personally wouldn't mention it they could think of it as a liability. As long as you are doing better now and have everything under control it's nobody else's business.

 

[hodge14]

I think speaking of your mental illness, in a positive light, could be important. It shows that you overcame an adversity, and are now succeeding. Just make sure you don't make it sound like it's an ongoing issue. Making it sound distant - use it to explain some issues in your transcript - but focus on how you've overcome the issue, not how it hindered you.

 

[dyesht]

This year it will be my second time applying. to dental schools. I did receive some interview invitations the previous cycle but I am still waitlisted at those schools, so I've decided to reapply. I decided to talk to admission counselors at schools where I did not receive interview invitations. Most of them said that it was probably because of my GPA why I wasn't invited. Yesterday, I talked to another counselor at this other school and she said that my application was pretty solid. When I asked her then why I didn't get invited for an interview, she said that she honestly didn't know because my application doesn't have any glaring weaknesses. She said that it was pretty good. So I've been thinking about this conversation and was wondering...could it be because of my mental illnesses? I have depression and anxiety and did talk about it in my personal statement and even mentioned it in the section of the application where it asks if my education was affected adversely (my GPA was crap at the end of freshman year and that was when I was diagnosed).
I also remember when I went to one of my interviews, the interviewer asked about my illnesses and basically what had happened. When I had told him about how I overcome everything the next couple years by working super hard in school, he just said that because of my depression, it is a possibility that I could fail while in dental school. I just want to know then is it a good idea to even mention if you have mental illnesses because it could possibly negatively effect you?

I would not mention it. Dental school is a business and they are looking for solid applicants that are committed. They want your money and would not risk losing it over someone that has the potential to quit or fail out. I'm not saying any of those things will happen to you, but it just becomes a liability for the schools to invest that time into you. It's unfortunate that you are going through those things, but it is totally your business only and not theirs, so again do not mention that in your application.

 

[prophyprincess]

If it affects your ability to be a good clinician then don't apply to dental school. If not then don't even mention it


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[dyesht]

If it affects your ability to be a good clinician then don't apply to dental school. If not then don't even mention it


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You really have no right to tell someone not to achieve their career goals. How is this person supposed to know if it affects their clinical skills when they aren't even a dental student yet? Mental illness affects more people than you think and sometimes it's a lifelong struggle for some people. That said, it can still be managed enough to not get in the way of daily activities.

 

[Hannah Banana]

OP, I agree with other people. Mentioning it might give you disadvantage.

 

[50appsddsapplicant]

This year it will be my second time applying. to dental schools. I did receive some interview invitations the previous cycle but I am still waitlisted at those schools, so I've decided to reapply. I decided to talk to admission counselors at schools where I did not receive interview invitations. Most of them said that it was probably because of my GPA why I wasn't invited. Yesterday, I talked to another counselor at this other school and she said that my application was pretty solid. When I asked her then why I didn't get invited for an interview, she said that she honestly didn't know because my application doesn't have any glaring weaknesses. She said that it was pretty good. So I've been thinking about this conversation and was wondering...could it be because of my mental illnesses? I have depression and anxiety and did talk about it in my personal statement and even mentioned it in the section of the application where it asks if my education was affected adversely (my GPA was crap at the end of freshman year and that was when I was diagnosed).
I also remember when I went to one of my interviews, the interviewer asked about my illnesses and basically what had happened. When I had told him about how I overcome everything the next couple years by working super hard in school, he just said that because of my depression, it is a possibility that I could fail while in dental school. I just want to know then is it a good idea to even mention if you have mental illnesses because it could possibly negatively effect you?

I agree with others as well OP - respectfully - just looking at the question posed - mental illness inherently sounds like a problem - its best not to give them any reason to flag the application.

 

[fogorvostan]

I chose not to mention my depression diagnosis in my application (or anywhere for that matter) for all of the reasons discussed

 

[prophyprincess]

You really have no right to tell someone not to achieve their career goals. How is this person supposed to know if it affects their clinical skills when they aren't even a dental student yet? Mental illness affects more people than you think and sometimes it's a lifelong struggle for some people. That said, it can still be managed enough to not get in the way of daily activities.

The only reason I replied to this thread is because I also have anxiety and talked with my doctor about being worried that it would effect me applying to dental school and working as a dentist. She said the exact same thing that I told OP to me. It absolutely does effect people in ways that would impact their clinic abilities but OP would know that by now.


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[Likkriue]

I can assure you if someone with anxiety in the extremes were to operate on me, I would not be very happy. At the hospital where I volunteered at Ive seen procedures get very complicated, a molar that refuses to come out, little kids screaming for their lives and teeth fracturing in the middle of treatment.
How are you going to tackle these issues when stuff gets difficult? You need to give yourself some confidence and stop thinking about your mental issues like a liability. The field isn't all rainbows sunshine and butterflys. It's gonna be blood, mouth odor and tears.

 

[Frychicken]

Omg, chicken nuggets. I think we're soulmates....

Best of luck to you this cycle!

 

[ILoveChickenNuggets]

I think speaking of your mental illness, in a positive light, could be important. It shows that you overcame an adversity, and are now succeeding. Just make sure you don't make it sound like it's an ongoing issue. Making it sound distant - use it to explain some issues in your transcript - but focus on how you've overcome the issue, not how it hindered you.

I did talk about it in a positive light last year. The only reason I even talked about my illnesses was to explain why freshman year was horrible but also talked about how I've not let it affect me again and have been working hard ever since.

I would not mention it. Dental school is a business and they are looking for solid applicants that are committed. They want your money and would not risk losing it over someone that has the potential to quit or fail out. I'm not saying any of those things will happen to you, but it just becomes a liability for the schools to invest that time into you. It's unfortunate that you are going through those things, but it is totally your business only and not theirs, so again do not mention that in your application.

I completely agree. I never thought about the whole liability issue.

 

[ILoveChickenNuggets]

If it affects your ability to be a good clinician then don't apply to dental school. If not then don't even mention it

It doesn't affect my ability to be a good clinician at all. The only reason I mentioned it in my application was to explain freshman year. But I now know not to even talk about it in my application any more.

I chose not to mention my depression diagnosis in my application (or anywhere for that matter) for all of the reasons discussed

Gotcha. Did your depression affect your grades or anything?

 

[ILoveChickenNuggets]

^ sorry I did something weird up there.

 

[ILoveChickenNuggets]

I can assure you if someone with anxiety in the extremes were to operate on me, I would not be very happy. At the hospital where I volunteered at Ive seen procedures get very complicated, a molar that refuses to come out, little kids screaming for their lives and teeth fracturing in the middle of treatment.
How are you going to tackle these issues when stuff gets difficult? You need to give yourself some confidence and stop thinking about your mental issues like a liability. The field isn't all rainbows sunshine and butterflys. It's gonna be blood, mouth odor and tears.

I understand the whole anxiety issue. But I have NEVER thought about my mental illness as a liability or else I wouldn't be applying at all. I know having depression and anxiety will not affect me when I am in dental school no matter what the situation is. I have built that much confidence in me over the past couple of years. I even mentioned it in my personal statement stating how I am not going to let my illnesses come in the way anymore. But I can't help it if dental schools think of my mental illness as a liability.

 

[ILoveChickenNuggets]

Omg, chicken nuggets. I think we're soulmates....

Best of luck to you this cycle!

Haha thanks! Where do you go to dental school? Hopefully I can join you there and we can actually be soulmates lol.

 

[Likkriue]

I understand the whole anxiety issue. But I have NEVER thought about my mental illness as a liability or else I wouldn't be applying at all. I know having depression and anxiety will not affect me when I am in dental school no matter what the situation is. I have built that much confidence in me over the past couple of years. I even mentioned it in my personal statement stating how I am not going to let my illnesses come in the way anymore. But I can't help it if dental schools think of my mental illness as a liability.

Best if you don't mention it tbh. And I'm glad you have the confidence. Goodluck on the application cycle of course.

 

[ILoveChickenNuggets]

Best if you don't mention it tbh. And I'm glad you have the confidence. Goodluck on the application cycle of course.

Thanks! And yea I am definitely not going to include it now. But since I will be reapplying to the same schools that I applied last year, won't they still know about it?

 

[Charles_Darwin]

You really have no right to tell someone not to achieve their career goals. How is this person supposed to know if it affects their clinical skills when they aren't even a dental student yet? Mental illness affects more people than you think and sometimes it's a lifelong struggle for some people. That said, it can still be managed enough to not get in the way of daily activities.

Yeah what this guy said. You rock that dental ****, OP

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[Likkriue]

Thanks! And yea I am definitely not going to include it now. But since I will be reapplying to the same schools that I applied last year, won't they still know about it?

They may or may not, can't give you an answer for that. Some might look at your older app with more scrutiny. It would depend on each individual school.

 

[hellofuturedentists]

OP, if it legitimately caused you to take time off or make your grades suffer, perhaps you can mention it simply as a health issue and not go into more detail. The same way that people just say "family problems".

 

[fogorvostan]

It did. I ended up bombing a year and had to do some GPA repair. Sucked because it was my junior year

 

[ILoveChickenNuggets]

OP, if it legitimately caused you to take time off or make your grades suffer, perhaps you can mention it simply as a health issue and not go into more detail. The same way that people just say "family problems".

It did cause my grades to suffer, but I think I might just mention it as a family problem (which it sort of was) instead of a health problem because I think they might ask what specific health problem I had during an interview and I don't know if I would be able to say depression and anxiety.

 

[ILoveChickenNuggets]

It did. I ended up bombing a year and had to do some GPA repair. Sucked because it was my junior year

So how did you explain it in your application then? Did you just write health problem?

 

[fogorvostan]

So how did you explain it in your application then? Did you just write health problem?

I didn't explain it at all.

 

[ILoveChickenNuggets]

I didn't explain it at all.

Oh wow and nobody asked you about your bad year during an interview? One interviewer did ask me about it, so I did explain it to him.

 

[schmoob]

Oh wow and nobody asked you about your bad year during an interview? One interviewer did ask me about it, so I did explain it to him.

You don't have to be super specific. You can say something along the lines of I was going through something that year that was difficult, but as you can see I was able to bounce back to my usual self and get back on the right track.

 

[fogorvostan]

Oh wow and nobody asked you about your bad year during an interview? One interviewer did ask me about it, so I did explain it to him.

Nope! I was never asked about it.

 

[hellofuturedentists]

It did cause my grades to suffer, but I think I might just mention it as a family problem (which it sort of was) instead of a health problem because I think they might ask what specific health problem I had during an interview and I don't know if I would be able to say depression and anxiety.

I think you'd be perfectly within your rights to say you'd rather not discuss it during an interview, saying something like "I'd rather not go into details, but it is certainly all under control now." But saying family issues would be fine as well. If your semester was bad, you may as well justify it. Good luck to you this cycle!

 

[ILoveChickenNuggets]

You don't have to be super specific. You can say something along the lines of I was going through something that year that was difficult, but as you can see I was able to bounce back to my usual self and get back on the right track.

I think you'd be perfectly within your rights to say you'd rather not discuss it during an interview, saying something like "I'd rather not go into details, but it is certainly all under control now." But saying family issues would be fine as well. If your semester was bad, you may as well justify it. Good luck to you this cycle!

Thank you everyone for your help! I really hope I succeed this cycle

 

[schmoob]

Thank you everyone for your help! I really hope I succeed this cycle

I hope so as well. Best of luck with your apps and with your health.

 

[yuuren]

I also have been diagnosed with long-term depression and anxiety and recommended treatment by my psychiatrist with anti-depressants and mood stabilizers (which I chose not to undergo). I didn't mention a word of it in my application or in any my interviews, due to the unfortunate stigma against mental illnesses in our society. But many more people than you'd think have depression or some other sort of mental illness. It's just that most are able to carry on with their daily lives regardless of it.

As for me personally, I have seen significant improvement over time, with many more sunny days than grey ones. I suspect it'll be with me my whole life, but hell if I'm going to let it stop me from becoming the best dentist I can be.

 

[ILoveChickenNuggets]

I also have been diagnosed with long-term depression and anxiety and recommended treatment by my psychiatrist with anti-depressants and mood stabilizers (which I chose not to undergo). I didn't mention a word of it in my application or in any my interviews, due to the unfortunate stigma against mental illnesses in our society. But many more people than you'd think have depression or some other sort of mental illness. It's just that most are able to carry on with their daily lives regardless of it.

As for me personally, I have seen significant improvement over time, with many more sunny days than grey ones. I suspect it'll be with me my whole life, but hell if I'm going to let it stop me from becoming the best dentist I can be.

Thank you so much for sharing. I completely agree with there being a stigma against mental illnesses in our society. I was naive last cycle and decided to include it in my application thinking the admissions committee would understand, but now I know that wasn't the case.

 

[Joseph12]

Mental illness is not a problem unless we consider it as a problem. As, anxiety forum recommends that eat healthy, work healthy and don't overthink on the things you can't control. Just focus on your present, work hard and you'll see that mental illness is nothing for you.

 

[Universitygeek]

I understand the whole anxiety issue. But I have NEVER thought about my mental illness as a liability or else I wouldn't be applying at all. I know having depression and anxiety will not affect me when I am in dental school no matter what the situation is. I have built that much confidence in me over the past couple of years. I even mentioned it in my personal statement stating how I am not going to let my illnesses come in the way anymore. But I can't help it if dental schools think of my mental illness as a liability.

I can't assess whether dental schools will look at it unfavorably, but I'm pretty confident that mentioning it provides no additional benefit for your application. If you overcame it and your grades reflect that then there's no reason to say it. Bringing it up gives adcoms the impression that you still might not have it under control. I can't see a scenario where it boosts your application.

 

[doc toothache]

It is "nobody's business" until we have a postal event and then it becomes everybody's business.