Posters to Tulane Confessions facebook page open up about mental illness

Facebook page exposes mental health issues

Allison Saft | 0 comments
http://www.thehullabaloo.com/views/article_d9fbc52e-926a-11e2-ab4c-001a4bcf6878.html


With the sudden explosion in popularity of Tulane Facebook pages, it is nearly impossible to find someone who hasn’t heard of Tulane Confessions, a page that has posted 1,300 anonymous submissions since Feb. 18. With veracity that is dubious at best, the page features anything from crude statements to uplifting anecdotes and is relatively harmless. The appeal is understandable — Tulane Confessions is as addicting as it is voyeuristic.

As the page has grown, however, it has morphed into a forum for students to unburden themselves of weighty issues that beg the Tulane community’s attention.

“My eating disorder is slowly killing me,” one anonymous user wrote. “But nobody will listen or care cuz im [sic] barely below weight and look normal.”

“I recently lost [around] 20 lbs using Adderall to fuel my workouts and suppress my appetite,” another submitter wrote. “I’m only about 5 lbs from being underweight for my height but I’m terrified of gaining weight so I won’t stop taking it. I’m afraid because I don’t know if I will be able to stop on my own, but honestly being thin is much more important.”

One in four young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 has a diagnosable mental illness, according to the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Administration. But no one’s talking about it. Instead, people flock to the internet to seek help, and consequently, Tulane Confessions has drawn to the surface a largely invisible issue to the forefront of campus concerns — perhaps by the nature of its anonymous system. Despite its prevalence, mental illness remains unacknowledged, misunderstood and stigmatized.