He remembers visiting his brother in the hospital and not recognizing him. Both Szabo and his brother suffer from bipolar disorder, a mental illness that affects millions of teenagers and adults alike. Also known as manic-depression, the disorder results from a chemical imbalance in the brain and produces extreme symptoms. Some people suffering from the disease, like Szabo, experience severe depression and display suicidal tendencies. Others go through periods in which they seem to have more energy, thoughts, and plans than they know how to handle, experiencing insomnia and anxiety on the other end of the spectrum.
Some people go through both extremes at different times, to varying degrees.
Now 22 years old and a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, Szabo has been living with the disease since he was first diagnosed seven years ago. He will address the problem of mental illness and youth. He has already spoken to over 1,800 high school students in his hometown of Nazareth, Pa., and he has offers from high schools in the area such as Walt Whitman and Herndon. He plans to launch his own Mental Health Awareness Campaign geared towards young people. The way society deals with mental illness is in some ways inherently wrong, Szabo said.