Hi, my name is Mikela, and I have ARCI-CIE ichthyosis. I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and currently live in New York City. I am starting my third year in a clinical psychology doctoral program at Fordham University. I’m thrilled to be helping FIRST gather mental health resources, and I wanted to share some of what I’ve gone through with the hopes that it could possibly help others.  

I have struggled with anxiety my whole life, beginning when I was about 6 (I’m 29 now). My anxiety likes to keep me on my toes by shifting around and finding new targets. Sometimes I feel like I’m playing a game of whack a mole! I’ve dealt with intense performance anxiety (did I mention I majored in violin performance?), fear of flying, and panic attacks. 

I am immensely grateful to have worked with therapists who have changed my life and improved my quality of life significantly. To give an example: I had an intense fear of flying which made traveling by plane very difficult for me for about 10 years. In 2021, I had the opportunity to work with a therapist who specialized in this fear. I’m happy to report that now I can fly with much more manageable levels of anxiety. Traveling to New Mexico for the FIRST conference was just one way therapy has allowed me to live my life to the fullest! 

Though my anxiety isn’t about my skin condition, I believe that they are linked. My anxiety began when I was being bullied in school because of my skin. My anxiety is still a part of me, but I feel that I have been able to change my relationship with it and see it as having less power over me. 

My lifelong journey with anxiety and my experiences living with ichthyosis are some of the reasons I became interested in psychology. My goal is to help others through therapy, since therapy was so meaningful to me, and to help at the intersection of medical conditions and mental health, since I have lived experience with both.  

In the meantime, I hope to lend my knowledge and support as a graduate student in clinical psychology to the FIRST community.?I would love to know what topics related to mental health you would like to see featured! Please consider sending me an email, mikelamurph@comcast.net, with your ideas for future articles. 

FIRST is excited to introduce Mikela Murphy, who will be contributing regular columns on mental health topics. 

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