Darkness Before the Light | Teen Ink

Darkness Before the Light

May 29, 2008
By Anonymous

Brittany W. is a sixteen year old girl that has made it through a horrid ordeal when she was fifteen years old. She was diagnosed with Conversion Disorder after losing all of her sight. She has agreed to speak with me about her past with this disorder though it was obvious that it was difficult for her. I am so proud that she was able to inform me about this rare disorder and speak about her hardships. We both hope that this interview will open the eyes of at least one person.


Q: What exactly is Conversion Disorder?
A: It’s when your emotions cause severe physical changes in your body. It can cause paralysis, blindness, and mental dysfunction.

Q: What was it like living with Conversion Disorder?
A: It’s hell on earth because it’s not something that everyone understands, so I got judged for it. I suffered from blindness for about six months. It all happened in stages. The first thing that happened was that I went color blind. Then, I lost my peripheral vision. Then, over a course of about three weeks, I went completely sightless. I was immediately rushed from my high school in Washington, DC by ambulance and then I was taken to a Children’s Hospital. I was evaluated, and the doctors couldn’t see anything medically wrong with me. Therefore, they diagnosed me with Conversion Disorder which I believe was just an educated guess. I still had to go to public school despite being blind. It was just horrible because the kids made fun of me. They called me a liar and said that I just wanted attention, and the teachers were even worse. The principal told them that they had certain obligations because I couldn’t see, but, honestly, I don’t think any of them cared, and they showed it well. They had an attitude about them, like “You can’t see, too bad”.

Q: Did your parents help you through it?
A: Honestly, that’s not a yes or no question, because it took a toll on my mother as well. As you can imagine, it’s hard for a parent to watch their child to go through such a traumatic thing as Conversion Disorder. My mother had to constantly take off of work at the risk of losing her job. As you can imagine, it was frustrating. Sometimes she’d cry in the bathroom hysterically. She’d pray constantly, asking why her child had to go through this. Sometimes, she’d even yell at me…not necessarily because she was angry, just that she was frustrated. The school wasn’t giving me the “special” help I needed. I was being bullied by both teachers and students, having my chair pulled from under me, I would ask people to put ketchup on my fries, and they would put tartar sauce and that just added fuel to the fire. That’s where the depression kicked in. It was unfortunate for my mother because she wanted to help me, but she just didn’t know how. It just wasn’t something she nor I knew how to adjust to. I guess in a way she did help me through it because she remained strong through it all, she stayed a real trooper.
And I will be forever grateful to her for that.


Q: How did the depression add to your stress?
A: I had to go to a psychiatrist due to the depression; that was just stupid. It was stupid because they were supposed to be helping me, and I felt as though they were judging me. They were acting as if I had control over the Conversion Disorder when I didn’t. I was just sitting in class one day, and it just hit me like an Armageddon Flame. They didn’t understand, and they didn’t want to believe it. In so many words, they were telling me that I was insane. Looking back, I guess it’s safe to say that they were no different than the students and teachers. No matter what I said, no matter how I expressed myself (which they claimed I wasn’t doing), they said the reason I was depressed was because I was keeping everything bottled up. They were pretty much telling me how I should feel and how I should think.
Eventually, they decided that I needed to be put on medications such as anti-depressants. They claimed that the medication was to kind of put me at ease, but it didn’t help. One just made me really zombie-ish and the other just put me to sleep. In the commercial for the first, the little egg is all sad and then he takes the meds and he becomes the life of the party. It’s funny because when they put me on the medicine, I expected the medicine to do the same; I thought it was a cure. Boy was I wrong. It just made things worse. I was socially isolated, I sat in the dark…a lot…, I never desired to go anywhere, and when I’d take the medication, it would seem that I would stare at the wall for the longest time. That is what I mean when I say zombie-ish.

Q: Do you think you have fully recovered?
A: Yes, I have. I have because I’ve learned other coping skills like writing and, well, religion. At first, it was a hard thing to move past. The scars will always be there. I feel that the scars from that traumatic experience will always be printed indelibly on my brain. But I am learning to not let that define me.

Q: Is there any advice you can give anyone in a similar situation?
A: Keep your head up and stay strong, because you are really going to need it. Just understand that life is full of hardships and that life is the strangest teacher because “it gives you the test first and the lesson afterwards.”

The author's comments:
wow this is intense, and teens might be interested. also, the author writes that she both she and the interviewee hope the interview will open the eyes of at least one person, so it seems that they want it to be public...

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This article has 11 comments.


Clouds said...
on Mar. 31 2011 at 1:32 pm
Clouds, Chicago, Illinois
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"Always think positive"

WOW i luv it!!!

on Dec. 23 2010 at 8:03 pm
SkyDeer PLATINUM, Mebane, North Carolina
20 articles 19 photos 49 comments

Favorite Quote:
Respect the nerds, they will be your boss someday- The Computer Guy.
The best is yet to come and baby won't it be fine- A band.
Defiant is the best word in the dictionary!

Love this article.

sally said...
on Oct. 13 2010 at 10:23 pm
this article truely touched me especially when it talked about how it has effected her.

Bobb said...
on Oct. 13 2010 at 2:25 pm
The question about her parents is really touching. It tells how her parents stay strong and that must have been very important

on May. 11 2010 at 7:23 pm
Jonathan_Peraza SILVER, Lilburn, Georgia
9 articles 1 photo 8 comments
This is a very powerful interview... It really did inspire me, and let me see a world that I had never seen before.. I Loved it!

on Apr. 30 2010 at 11:30 am
.A.Silence.in.Winter. BRONZE, Truckee, California
2 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Those who plants in tears will harvest with shouts of joy." - Psalms 126:5

This is beautiful.  I'd never heard of Conversion Disorder.  My goodness, I just want to give Brittany a big hug!  ):  This piece is very well written and I wish it would get the attention it deserves!  

ryanethelion said...
on Jan. 6 2010 at 3:45 pm
ryanethelion, Poteet, Texas
0 articles 1 photo 6 comments
i really like when brittany said "life is the strangest teacher because “it gives you the test first and the lesson afterwards.” Before this i had never heard of Conversion Disorder. This interview was very well written, and i enjoy reading and learning about new things :)

Jensran said...
on Dec. 29 2008 at 11:54 pm
This is really great. I've never heard a story as good as this. I wish her lots of luck for the future.

on Aug. 16 2008 at 6:31 am
i am proud of Brittany cause she expressed a lot and she pointed out how people will never understand peoples pains or feelings. i love this interview cause it shows how people will think something negative instead of looking beyond the attention wanting or just to be noticed. I wish people could see how other feel so it could help others out and stop depression.

The Writer said...
on Aug. 15 2008 at 11:04 pm
I'm amazed that people will get to hear her story. I'm so proud of her for letting it all out. I hope everyone learns something form this.

ak_ndw said...
on Aug. 15 2008 at 10:51 pm
Wow,I never even knew of such a disorder.It sounds terrible,I feel so greatful for not having it since i can be very ..well..emotional..and get depressed easily.And i sure hope she stays recoverd.