Mental health issues are extremely common in the US, as 1 in 4 adults suffer from a mental illness.
When I first heard that statistic, I was pretty shocked. 18% is almost 1 in 5. But if anxiety is so common, why don’t we hear more talk about it? Why is it something people feel the need to keep under wraps?
Everyone agrees their favorite part of SMC is the sisterhood. Our fellow belles really do become like sisters, and we can share anything with them- almost anything. For some reason, people don’t open up to their friends about mental health issues. Think about it- 1 in 4 of us struggle, but how many people do you know have opened up about their mental health?
No matter how big the struggle, it’s always kept secret. Anxiety just isn’t something we talk candidly about.
Support A Belle, Love A Belle is an annual week on campus designed to try and break down the mental health stigma. As belles, we should be able to tell our fellow belles when we are dealing with depression and anxiety, AND we should receive the support and love we deserve back from those we open up to.
SABLAB kicks off with a student panel on Monday, Sept 5th at 6 pm in Vander Vennett. Real life current belles will open up about their experiences with mental illness and answer questions from students, breaking down the wall put up by stigmas. There will be cupcakes, and one lucky attendee will win some goodies from Bath and Body Works Stress Relief Line.
On Wednesday, come refresh your mind from the stress of classes and studying. Take a mental health break at Reignbeux Lounge in Le Mans for a little Positivi-tea (See what I did there?) We’ll have a huge assortment of tea, and you can sip it from an adorable free mug. There’s going to be plenty of desserts, because #treatyourself is the best way to take care of yourself. We’ll also be giving away more Stress Relief products!
On Friday during lunch, therapy dogs will be on the library green to kick off the weekend. Animal therapy treats several mental disorders, especially depression, as petting an animal is shown to release endorphins, or happy emotions, to the brain. Cute dogs and another chance to win Stress Relief products… Need I say more? If it’s raining, the dogs will be under the library awning.
Everything concludes with a Sundaes on Sunday, were you can treat yo self to ice cream while watching Finding Dory, a movie that proves it’s okay to be different, and everyone can overcome their weaknesses.
Be sure to follow SGA on Facebook and Instagram (@smcsga), where we’ll be sharing photos from the events, statistics about mental illness, and ways YOU can get involved. The tagline of SABLAB this year is Mental Health Begins With ME- and it really couldn’t be further from the truth. Mental health begins with everybody showing they care, one belle at a time.