Two years ago, at my high school reunion, an old friend told a story about the time she came to visit during my freshman year of college. I was distant, she said. Aloof. I told her I didn’t have the energy to do anything and that I needed to stay in bed most of the weekend. She left early, disappointed and confused.
At the reunion, she understood for the first time what had happened. She’d been reading Beautiful Voyager and was learning more about mental health. She said, “I think you were shutting down in response to stress.”
