Around 10 p.m. last Tuesday, University of Wisconsin junior Becky Badge began to make dinner. She reached in the cabinet, grabbed a box of Annie’s Mac & Cheese (white cheddar, for obvious reasons) and turned on Phoebe Bridger’s album “Punisher.” She was three-fourths deep into the pot when she realized — she would probably benefit from therapy.
“It all just hit me at once, you know?” Badge said. “Here I was, a lactose intolerant girl eating only mac & cheese and pretending it was okay when, let’s be honest, it was really not okay.”
Badge had been using Spotify Premium and cheese as a way to cope with the difficulty of this semester. For the past few weeks she had been denying that that was the case, claiming “listening to sad music actually made her feel better.” Her roommates were not confident that this was the case.
“Her private Snapchat story told a different story. No pun intended,” said Badge’s roommate Catie Randall. “If I see her do the TikTok dance to ‘Motion Sickness’ one more time … It’s funny, but it’s sad. Mainly sad.”
Ultimately, Badge came to the conclusion on her own that therapy may be a great option. Her roommates were incredibly proud and inspired by her decision. And excited to switch up the music in the apartment.
At the end of the day, we all cope in the same way — music and cheese. The way you choose to utilize the two vices is your business, but you can rest assured knowing every other person on this campus who is “going through it” may also be going through a bag of shredded cheese.
Mental health workers, students work to manage mental health during COVID-19 pandemic
Okay, end of silly article. NOW IT IS TIME TO GET SERIOUS!!!!
Just like Becky Badge, I am sure you also found yourself feeling a bit down this semester. I know I have! That is NOTHING to be ashamed of! Even if you are choosing to use cheese and/or music to cope, that is also nothing to be ashamed of.
I want to take this time to refer you to some amazing therapy services both on and off campus. Getting help is the best thing you can do for yourself and here at The Badger Herald we encourage you to take that step for yourself and to see how it helps.
UHS Therapy Services
Westside Psychotherapy
