COLORADO SPRINGS — A D20 high school senior opened the floodgates to her mom after so much built-up pressure.
"I just broke down crying completely and it felt like all my friends knew they wanted to be a neurosurgeon or like a lawyer and I was like I'm not sure exactly what I want to do," said Parnika Shankar.
"Certainly it's very difficult to see your child in tears, but I'm glad at least she opened up," said her mom Yamini.
Parnika said she felt isolated from her friends and struggled in school. "It became like a hassle to complete assignments, I was like, 'well what am I doing it for.'"
She's not the only one needing help to deal with stress. Staff with Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention Partnership said more teens are needing resources to support their mental health, especially during the first few months of school.
"We hear about this pressure all of the time," said executive director Cass Walton. "Look to your left and look to your right, I promise you those people next to you also don't know what they're doing."
But Parnika said she felt alone. "As a high schooler, I think it's kind of hard to realize that, especially when we see all these people who are like successful, we don't know how to get there."
Parnika started a podcast, talking with people in various jobs about how they got there.
"It helped me a lot knowing I'm not alone, it also helped my peers know they're not alone and I think even further than that, it's been a resource to know that there are a lot of opportunities out there," said Parnika.
She said she hopes to not only give career ideas, but also assure her peers not everyone had it figured out. "I feel like the best way to overcome [the pressure] is hearing how other people did it."
"I'm really proud of her, I'm very humbled by what she does and to be honest I think I learn from her everyday," said Yamini.
The Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention Partnership offer free mental health help including peer support, mentorship and therapy.
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