YOUNGSTOWN — It started with a series of rapid-fire thoughts, a mind going a mile a minute, a young girl waging war against herself.

This was the first panic attack Youngstown State University student Frances Clause of Boardman could recall experiencing when she was in the sixth grade. Shortly after, she was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder.

Even at her young age, she said she was aware of the anxiety before her diagnosis, but others just labeled it as her being shy and mature for her age.

“Mental health issues look different for so many people, especially children, so finally getting answers to why I felt the way I did was intimidating, but also a relief,” Clause said prior to her YSU graduation Sunday with a master’s degree in counseling.

One day, Clause said she might have been ruminating on a past experience, one that caused what she described to be complex trauma. Other days, she’s hyper-fixated on something with her physical appearance.

Thoughts turn to bouts of “unpleasant bodily symptoms,” Clause said, noting her muscles tense and her teeth clench from the stress.

“Through proper coping skills, you can catch yourself and break out of the thought pattern and distract yourself, but sometimes it’s not as easy,” Clause said.

The key, she says, is being gentle with herself when it’s more difficult to cope. Luckily, Clause said she had a strong support system of friends and professors helping her navigate obstacles en route to graduating.

She looks to take her experiences and use them to set others on their healing journey.

“We have to be there for our clients so we have to take care of our mental health, too. Not only has receiving counseling helped my mental health, it has also given me more knowledge about different techniques that are useful,” Clause said.

The woman recalling those memories is a very different version of Clause, although she still fights daily battles with her mental health, However, she stood tall and proud as Honorary Student Marshal, leading the counseling program she graduated from during YSU’s fall commencement ceremony.

“I ugly cried when I opened the email that I got as a student marshal. It means so much to me because I graduated with my bachelor’s at YSU in 2020, so I didn’t get to ever walk because of COVID-19,” Clause said.

The tears are understood as the road to get here was paved with hurdles along the way.

Mentally and physically, Clause suffers from anxiety, depression, OCD and an eating disorder — but Clause knows herself to be determined, compassionate, an advocate, and now, after working across stage with about 700 of her peers Sunday afternoon, she can add a master’s degree to the list.

cmcbride@tribtoday.com