By:Jennifer Marino
Lynch, 24, spoke about her own experiences with depression, anorexia, bipolar disorder and attention deficit disorder.
When she was 9, Lynch began to cry all the time. Her parents hoped it was a passing thing, but by the time she was 14, her parents had to put her in a children's psychiatric hospital for depression and anorexia nervosa, which was threatening her life.
"It's like being in a fog," said Lynch of depression.
As a middle school student, Lynch was not the beauty queen she is today. In her words, she had "stringy hair, braces and acne." On her 14th birthday she tried to commit suicide, but was interrupted by her mother. Through tears, her father told her they had to admit her to a psychiatric hospital.
Despite her depression, Lynch was a straight A student who felt that she didn't belong in the hospital with kids who had drug problems or were violent. After 30 days, her health insurance coverage ended, and Lynch returned home. The fact that her treatment depended on the discretion of her parents' health insurance company has led Lynch to fight for Timothy's Law, a mental health parity bill that would end discrimination against the mentally ill in health insurance.
Once Lynch was back at home, she began a pattern of behavior in which she felt better while on medication, and then stopped taking the medication to be normal. In high school, she learned to lie about her illness when fellow students asked her if she had been in a "nuthouse."
"Everything in life happens for a reason," she told the high schoolers. She now uses her title to educate students, parents and teachers about depression.
Throughout her roller-coaster life, Lynch has been successful in many areas. She graduated fourth out of 425 seniors in her high school class and earned a degree from the University of Virginia in three years. "Nobody ever said I would graduate high school," she said.
She moved to Manhattan in 2000 to become an actress, and landed a role in the ensemble of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. She thought she had made it, but when her contract was up she went on many unsuccessful auditions. To make ends meet, she did what many struggling performers do, becoming a waitress, but her depression was creeping back.
While she was waiting tables, Lynch also discovered that she was having problems concentrating. These days she keeps her life under control with the help of medication for depression, bipolar disorder and ADD. She takes about 10 pills a day.
The stigma of mental illness followed her into pageant life. Her platform when she began was "Building Self-Esteem" because it was safe. She eventually changed it to "Combating Teen Depression and Suicide." Lynch feels that her honesty about her own struggles with mental illness helped her win the Miss New York title.
She serves as the spokeswoman for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Queens/Nassau Division's "Break the Silence" campaign to combat teen suicide. She is also on the board of directors for the Mental Health Association in New York state.
Lynch quizzed the high school students about the signs of mental illness, and asked them what they could do if they thought a friend had a problem. She urged students to look out for their friends and tell a trusted adult - a parent, teacher, guidance counselor or social worker - if they suspected something. She answered students' questions, and invited them to speak to her privately after the assembly. She told the teens to look around, because one in 15 people suffers from a mental illness.
Last September, Lynch compete in the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City. She didn't make it to the final 15, but back in the dressing room, while other girls shed some tears, Lynch was OK. "In my life, I already won," she said.
