Anders Saling

Georgia Kattler, a freshman forensic psychology student from Brooklyn Heights, Ohio, poses for a portrait in her dorm room in Athens, Ohio, on April 27, 2025. Georgia was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and anxiety in October 2024 after a suicide attempt. “I have wrestled with depression my whole life, but it has really hit me hard being away at college,” she says. “There is so much time when I’m doing nothing, and I feel all alone — especially living without a roommate.”

Georgia Kattler vacuums the carpet in her dorm room on April 17, 2025, in Athens, Ohio. “I vacuum my carpet two, three, sometimes four times a day. It helps me calm down and stay unstressed,” she says. “Cleaning lets my brain focus on other things and stay away from anything bad.”

Drawings decorate the walls of Georgia Kattler’s dorm room on April 17, 2025, in Athens, Ohio. “I filled my walls to add some color — it makes me happier,” she says. Georgia also adds, “I love my coloring book. It gives me something to do when I’m bored or struggling. It’s a way to escape.”

Georgia Kattler holds a bottle of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) she has been prescribed, on April 27, 2025, in Athens, Ohio. SSRIs are a type of antidepressant that work by increasing levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. “I wake up every day and take one. I can literally feel it changing how I feel,” she says. “I think I need to up my dosage soon, but right now it’s doing its job.”

Gabbana, Georgia’s Emotional Support Animal, hides in a pop-up tube Georgia set up for her in her dorm room on April 17, 2025, in Athens, Ohio. Following her diagnosis, Georgia worked with her doctors and the university to gain approval for an emotional support animal. “The school made it so difficult. I had to go to a dozen meetings and sign so much paperwork — it felt never-ending,” she says. “I’m thankful to have Gabbana here now, but the time it took to get everything done was way too long.”

Gabbana joins Georgia Kattler on her bed while she works on homework on April 26, 2025, in Athens, Ohio. “She loves to cuddle with me. When I take a nap or wake up in the morning, she’s always by my side,” Georgia says. Gabbana has been living with Georgia in her dorm room since January 2025.

Georgia Kattler pets Gabbana as they cuddle together on April 27, 2025, in Athens, Ohio. “She is so pretty, and I love running my hands through her fur,” Georgia says. Although Gabbana has short hair, Georgia adds, “The only pain is that her hair gets everywhere in my room, and some of it is hard to see because it’s white.”

A pouch of catnip rests atop Gabbana’s bed in the corner of Georgia Kattler’s dorm room on April 17, 2025, in Athens, Ohio. More than two dozen toys and small trinkets are scattered throughout her dorm room.

Georgia Kattler cuddles with Gabbana after a long day of classes on April 26, 2025, in Athens, Ohio. “I love getting back to my room, sitting on my bed, and Gabbana just comes over and gives me love,” she says. “It makes rough days so much better knowing she is there for me.”

Georgia and Gabbana, look out the window of her dorm, watching activity in the courtyard below, on April 17, 2025, in Athens, Ohio. “Gabbana just knows me. She knows who I like and what I like. She’s like a best friend to me. I know she will always be by my side when I need her,” Georgia says. “She helps me through so much that sometimes I feel like I don’t give her enough love. She’s just the best.”