Aubrie Edmond, Contributor

When I was about fourteen or fifteen years old, I was prescribed birth control for the first time. I had been struggling with hormonal acne for years, and my doctor thought it would be the best solution. I knew nothing about birth control besides the fact that most of the women and girls that I knew were on it or had been on it at some point in their lives, and most of them felt that the pros outweigh the cons. 

The first birth control that I went on was great. I had no cramps, my mood was great, and my skin started to clear up. After the first month or two my insurance stopped covering my prescription, and I had to switch to a new formula. Things took a turn for the worse; I became incredibly moody and depressed, my anxiety worsened, and I had no idea why. This began a long journey of going from brand to brand, trying to find something that made me feel as good as the first one made me feel to no avail. When quarantine started in 2020, I decided to take a break from the search. There was no reason for me to continue taking it if I wasn’t even leaving the house, and I wanted to see what would happen if I went off of it. I felt slightly better, but the stress of quarantine made it hard for me to realize what effects going off of birth control actually had on my mental health. 

When I started college, I decided to give it another try. At this point, I was already going through so many life changes that I didn’t even notice the effects that it had on my mental health until very recently. I was on continuously for the past few years, but recently I decided that I wanted to stop again.

Going off of my birth control was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. In the past few months I’ve felt so much more alive and like myself, and the dark cloud of depression that I thought would haunt me for the rest of my life began to dissipate. I’ve learned that it’s really important to listen to your body and what it needs, and that it takes time to figure out what’s good for you. I wanted to share this story because I know how many women and girls feel the need to start birth control, but medicine is not one size fits all. Something that works well for other people may not work for you, because no one knows you as well as you know yourself.