W
e need to talk about it. Why is mental health such a taboo topic, especially among law students? The fact is, many of us are going through the same thing, so we should talk about it. So, let’s have the talk.
What is it about law school that makes law students believe they do not belong? Why do so many of us feel that we got in by fluke? What are the pressures that law students are facing?
In our first year at law school, we are introduced to the curve. Many of us are used to getting As and, all of a sudden, we receive our first semester grades and begin classifying ourselves as B students. We are told by upper year students that most people get Bs and it is not a big deal, but for some reason, that doesn’t help. We think by not getting any As, there are no job opportunities for us. This is simply not true. We change our study strategies practically every week because we let the chatter around us get to us.
In our second year at law school, we somewhat learn how to accept the curve and are a bit more confident with our study habits, but become obsessed with something else – OCIs. The atmosphere in class suddenly changes. We think if we don’t get a summer position, our careers are over. Once again, this is simply not true. It is not the end of the world if you don’t secure a summer position. Life really does go on.
In our third year at law school, we are supposed to finally see the light, but do we really? Many students are still worried about securing an articling position.
All these problems are common to most, if not all, law students. Yet we are still quite reluctant to have an open and frank discussion about these issues. Why is that? One possible reason is our fear of judgment. As students, we are told about the importance of professionalism and constantly engage in managing our image to ensure we are always presented in the best possible light. In this competitive atmosphere at law school, we often worry that talking about our own mental health issues are a display of weakness that could harm our future career prospects. The unfortunate stigma surrounding mental health issues still exists in society and, in some ways, law school may increase the fear of being susceptible to this stigma.
Along with this image-managing, we are often afraid about fitting in. We become preoccupied with the whispers around us that we begin to amend our behaviour to try to convince others – and ourselves – that we belong. We begin to compare ourselves to our conceptions of the ideal law student: the straight-A individual who secures a rare first-year summer position, participates in OCIs and acquires a prestigious second-year summer position, articles at that top tier firm, finally culminating in a lucrative legal career. Some of us worry about not living up to this ideal student that we begin to lose sight of our own personal goals and best interests, instead doing all we can to fit in. In our busy lives, the pursuit of this ideal is a time-consuming endeavour that leaves little room for us to address our mental health needs. Instead, we prioritize our grades, extracurriculars and search for employment while putting our mental health on the back-burner.
Dealing with mental health issues at law school does not make you weak. It does not mean you cannot handle the stress and pressure that law school brings. It does not mean that law school is not for you. By talking about it, we are recognizing there is a problem. The problem is not with us, but perhaps with law school as an institution.
We do not have the solutions to all these problems. Our point, however, is that we need to talk about all of these issues. We need to have an open and frank discussion in order to determine how law schools, and specifically Osgoode, can relieve some of the stress and pressure that law students are facing. We will be having this open and frank discussion to start off Mental Health Awareness Week on Monday, October 28, 2013. We hope to see a good turn out. After all, it is absolutely necessary to have the talk.
ROMA LOTAY and ALICIA JAIPERSAUD, Contributors