Jordan Corcoran had a message for the students at Clarion-Limestone High School on Tuesday: “You are not alone.”
Corcoran told the students she experienced some problems while in high school in Pittsburgh and thought she had left those problems behind when she went to college at Mercyhurst in Erie.
“But the problems went with me,” she said.
She wrote for the college newspaper, The Merciad, and eventually became the opinion editor. She wrote about issues that affected students, but behind the “little complaints” she wrote about, Corcoran was struggling.
She had been diagnosed with anxiety disorders as a freshman and continued to work through different treatments throughout college.
To illustrate her point, Corcoran displayed a “before and after” photo of herself to the C-L students. The “after” selfie photo was after she had suffered an anxiety attack.
“Medication and counseling helped, but writing became a significant coping technique,” she said. Her journal was private but she decided in her junior year to write about her problems.
She said she was anxious and she questioned the wisdom of making her problems public. Corcoran said the response was “overwhelmingly positive.”
She said she realized there were other people out there who wanted to share their stories, like she had, but were afraid to put their name on it.
After college, the idea wouldn’t go away. She realized students needed an anonymous, public place to air private pain. In 2013, Corcoran founded Listen, Lucy. Lucy was her mother’s nickname for her as a child.
Listen, Lucy. functions like a group diary. Anyone can read and contribute anonymously.
Users post about their experiences with anxiety, depression, panic or anything else that they’re struggling with. The submissions may be written pieces, videos, music, poetry or whatever they want to share.
“You can sign your name, but few do,” said Corcoran
“I will always remember the day I got my first story,” said the 31 year-old Pittsburgh native. Since then Listen, Lucy. has received hundreds of posts.
She said some are brief and vague, some are long and detailed; some are from students, some from new parents; some are encouraging and optimistic, and some are heart wrenching.
“That’s part of the appeal of Listen, Lucy. is that diaries don’t have style guides,” she said. “There’s no such thing as a typical post.”
“Listen, Lucy is all about accepting people and giving them support if they are looking for that,” Corcoran says. “I also hope that my story and putting myself out there helps bring people to the website. I am hoping if they see me sharing my struggles confidently, it will encourage them to do the same.
“My mission is simple,” Corcoran, a North Hills native, writes on the site. “I want to create a less judgmental, more accepting world.”