Josh Sheridan’s Personal Path to Psychology
For Josh Sheridan, the decision to study psychology wasn’t academic; it was personal. His choice was shaped by a nontraditional upbringing, marked by both intellectual curiosity and deep emotional struggle. Born and raised in Gloucester, MA, Sheridan’s early education was anything but conventional. After attending public elementary school, his parents, seeking a more individualized experience for their academically advanced son, explored private school options. Ultimately, they opted for homeschooling, a decision that shaped his academic and emotional development.
Early Curiosity, Early Isolation
From a young age, Sheridan stood out. Teachers noticed his intellectual spark. In fourth grade, he and another student were asked to lead a book discussion for their classmates. While others read age-appropriate stories, Sheridan devoured Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs. “Are you sure you want to read that?” his teacher asked. He was. Other students recognized that he was different, though Sheridan himself didn’t fully understand what that meant. That difference, he says, often led to isolation. “They were seeing something I didn’t. That could make it hard to connect.”
Despite the emotional distance, his mind was never idle. He became fascinated by farming and sustainability, raising chickens and building a compost pile. He interned at Seaside Sustainability, a local nonprofit, where he worked on initiatives like green crab remediation and documentary screenings to raise awareness about environmental issues. “It gave me purpose,” he says, “and it gave me people.”
Searching for Belonging
Sheridan’s homeschooling years were punctuated by both solitude and independence. He kept physically active through trail running, canoeing, and surfing. And academically, he pursued dual enrollment classes at North Shore Community College and Gordon College during high school.
He joined clubs, launched a chess club, and wrote for the campus paper. “Throwing myself into everything was my way of trying to connect,” he reflects. But despite his efforts, the loneliness persisted.
“I felt like I was doing so much to connect but wasn’t getting anywhere. I began to despair.”
Without a strong support network or the tools to talk about his feelings, Sheridan fell into a deep depression. In October 2019, overwhelmed and burned out, he broke down in a therapist’s waiting room. He was sent for a psychiatric evaluation and discharged the same night. It was a wake-up call. He began regular therapy and tried medication. Just as he started to stabilize, the pandemic hit. He was 17 years old.
A Summer of Healing
The isolation of COVID-19 brought new challenges. But that summer, Sheridan found something unexpectedly healing. He and his younger brother joined family friends in New Hampshire to build a small cottage. Quarantining together, the group worked side by side. “It felt like I had a family again. They accepted me for who I was.”
The reprieve was temporary. When he returned to campus at Gordon College that fall, the emptiness returned. The COVID-era campus was eerily quiet. Masks, testing, and distanced meals replaced the promise of community. “We were all together, but we weren’t supposed to be together. It felt weird.”
Then came a breaking point.
The Weekend That Changed Everything
One October weekend, his mother picked him up for a canoe trip with their New Hampshire friends. On the way there, Sheridan erupted. “I was angry. I told her I didn’t want to go back to school. I was sick and tired of fighting the anxiety, the doubt, the fear.” His mother listened.
They turned the car around.
For days, Sheridan isolated in his childhood bedroom. When he finally spoke with a psychiatrist over Zoom, he confessed: “If there were a button I could press to sleep forever, I would.” Alarmed, the psychiatrist contacted his parents. That night, Sheridan was hospitalized and later transferred to a psychiatric ward in Brookline, where he spent five days.
When he was discharged, the depression remained, now with an added layer of shame. “How do you tell people that you left school because you did not want to continue your life?”
Recovery, One Step at a Time
It wasn’t instant. But it was a beginning.
Sheridan returned to therapy, started journaling, began exercising regularly, and worked to reestablish healthy relationships. “I was learning how to have grace with myself. How to accept the gray areas instead of needing all the answers.”
He slowly began to open up. “I started sharing with others that I was depressed. I didn’t have anything impressive going on. I was just trying to learn about myself.”
“I was learning how to have grace with myself. How to accept the gray areas instead of needing all the answers.”
Reimagining Purpose
In 2022, a friend who had served in the Coast Guard inspired him to consider enlisting. Sheridan loved the idea of meaningful, service-oriented work. He trained, memorized the boot camp
manual, and applied. But after five months, his medical waiver, required due to his mental health history, was denied.
The setback hit hard. “I had been so invested,” he said. “But I recognized the signs. I knew I had to do something different.” He reached out for help again. He talked to his therapist. He cried. He processed.
And then he made a choice: to replace one dream with another.
A Degree with Meaning
“I could’ve spent my time denying that I had a nontraditional education or struggled with depression,” he says. “But I didn’t want to edit those parts out of my story. I wanted to move forward.”
He decided to finish college, and to study psychology. He enrolled at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies, drawn by its flexibility and community. “It felt like a place where I could work, go to school, and stay connected.”
Sheridan credits the therapists who helped him in his darkest moments as his greatest inspiration. “I remember thinking: these people stood with me in such vulnerable moments in my life. I want to be that person for someone else.”
Graduation and Beyond
Reflecting on his journey, Sheridan says, “It’s been up and down, but more up than down. I kept my eyes on my goals. I stabilized my mental health. I found a balance of challenge and support.”
He expresses deep gratitude for his family, therapist, and mentors like Dr. Kristin Lee at Northeastern. “She was both passionate and kind, exactly what I needed in an academic setting.”
Crossing the stage at graduation was a moment of triumph. “It isn’t just a piece of paper; it’s everything it took to get there. All the moments of uncertainty, coming together.”
The Road Ahead
Now, Sheridan is deciding between pursuing a master’s in social work and mental health counseling or a doctorate in clinical psychology. This summer, he’s working with young adults with disabilities through Abilities Unlimited in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Wherever the road leads, one thing is clear: Sheridan’s mission is to help others find hope. And in that mission, he has found something just as powerful—his own hope and inspiration. “There were times when I didn’t believe I’d ever feel whole again,” he says. “But now, I get to help others. I get to show that healing is possible and well within reach.”
