You Are Not Alone

    For the first 14 years of her life, Hannah Lucas was full of energy. She was a gymnast who spent up to 30 hours per week in the gym. She loved shopping and hanging out with friends. At home, you could find her goofing off with her younger brother, Charlie.

    Hannah was almost always happy. 

    But just two weeks after she started high school, her world took a sharp turn.

    Hannah didn’t feel well—ever. “The second week of school, I started passing out,” she explains. “It was terrifying.” 

    Doctors did tests to try to figure out why she kept fainting. At the same time, Hannah also started having deep, dark feelings she couldn’t shake. She constantly felt scared and helpless. Worst of all, she felt alone. Most nights, she hid away in her room.

    “I tried to tune out my feelings by watching Netflix and reading,” says Hannah, now 17. “But as soon as a show ended or I finished a book, all of my scary feelings would come rushing over me.”

    When she was younger, Hannah Lucas was full of energy. She was a gymnast. She loved shopping and hanging out with friends. She had fun with her younger brother, Charlie. Hannah was almost always happy.

    But just two weeks after she started high school, things changed.

    Hannah didn’t feel well—ever. “The second week of school, I started passing out,” she says. “It was terrifying.”

    Doctors did tests to try to figure out what was wrong. At the same time, Hannah started having deep, dark feelings she couldn’t shake. She felt scared and helpless. Worst of all, she felt alone. Most nights, she hid away in her room.

    “I tried to tune out my feelings by watching Netflix and reading,” says Hannah, now 17. “But as soon as a show ended or I finished a book, all of my scary feelings would come rushing over me.”

    For the first 14 years of her life, Hannah Lucas was full of energy. A gymnast who spent up to 30 hours per week in the gym, she also loved shopping and hanging out with friends. At home, you could find her goofing off with her younger brother, Charlie.

    Hannah was practically always happy.

    But just two weeks after she started high school, her world took a sharp turn.

    Hannah didn’t feel well—ever. “The second week of school, I started passing out,” she explains. “It was terrifying.”

    Doctors ran tests, trying to identify the cause of the fainting. At the same time, Hannah also started having deep, dark feelings she couldn’t shake. She constantly felt scared and helpless. Worst of all, she felt alone. Most nights, she hid in her room.

    “I tried to tune out my feelings by watching Netflix and reading,” remembers Hannah, now 17. “But as soon as a show ended or I finished a book, all of my scary feelings would come rushing over me.”

    Hannah didn’t feel like herself for months. Often, she felt numb and empty. Then one night in March, she reached her lowest point. “I was lying in my bedroom feeling completely hopeless,” she says. Hannah worried that she might hurt herself. She wanted to reach out to her family for help, but didn’t know how.

     “I had written long texts to my mom, but always felt too shy to send them,” she says.

    Luckily, Hannah’s mom came to her room to check on her. When she did, Hannah spilled out her feelings through tears. Her mom held her, comforting her and watching over her.

    After that night, Hannah’s doctor suggested she see a therapist to talk about her feelings. That’s how she found out she has depression and anxiety. These serious but common and treatable medical conditions affect millions of teens. 

    Hannah’s depression and anxiety weren’t what caused her to faint. But these conditions can run in families and are often triggered by a big life event. For Hannah, that event was likely her new health problems.

    Hannah didn’t feel like herself. Often, she felt numb and empty. Then one night in March, she reached her lowest point. “I was lying in my bedroom feeling completely hopeless,” she says. She worried that she might hurt herself. She wanted to reach out to her family for help. But she didn’t know how.

    “I had written long texts to my mom, but always felt too shy to send them,” she says.

    Luckily, Hannah’s mom came to her room to check on her. When she did, Hannah spilled out her feelings through tears. Her mom held her.

    After that night, Hannah’s doctor suggested she see a therapist. That’s how she found out she has depression and anxiety. These medical conditions are serious but treatable. They can run in families. And they affect millions of teens.

    Hannah’s depression and anxiety weren’t what caused her to faint. But these conditions are often triggered by a big life event. For Hannah, that event was likely her new health problems.

    For months, Hannah didn’t feel like herself. She often felt numb and empty. Then one night in March, she reached her lowest point. “I was lying in my bedroom feeling completely hopeless,” she recalls. Hannah worried that she might hurt herself. She wanted to reach out to her family for help, but she didn’t know how.

     “I had written long texts to my mom, but always felt too shy to send them,” she says.

    Fortunately, Hannah’s mother came to her room to check on her—and when she did, Hannah spilled out her feelings through tears. Her mom held her, comforting her and watching over her.

    After that night, Hannah’s doctor suggested she see a therapist to talk about her feelings. That’s how she found out she has depression and anxiety, two serious but treatable medical conditions that affect millions of teenagers all over the world.

    Hannah’s depression and anxiety weren’t what caused her to faint. But these conditions, which can run in families, are often triggered by a major life event. For Hannah, that event was likely her new health problems.