The average person has many identities: there’s the image that strangers see; how a person’s friends view them; and all that’s hidden beneath the surface. The concerning part is that what you know about your loved ones is often almost as limited as that stranger you pass on your way to class. This is because society has been restricted by fear and stigma.
This stigma—that keeps you guarded from your closest friends—is the negative connotation attached to mental illness in our society. Although it is kept deeply concealed, millions of college students across the nation are struggling everyday to avoid this stigma, despite the need to address their mental health struggles. This fall; however, Northeastern University fights back. Oct 7-11 will bring Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) to NEU; a week dedicated to changing the conversation about Mental Illness.
“Everything we are doing now shapes the rest of our lives,” says Alex Williams, co-head of MHAW at Northeastern, “So if we can address the [mental health] issues and start these conversations now, I think it will greatly affect how a lot of people will live their lives.”
The week’s events will begin on October 7, kicking off with an RSA-cosponsored BBQ. RSA along with UHCS (university health and counseling services) has been actively involved in the planning process. In addition to being a crucial resource, UHCS is sponsoring Friday’s “Therapy Dog Event.”—Which will bring certified therapy dogs to help de-stress the students. RSA will also have volunteers helping out throughout the week.
Mental Health Awareness Week is nationally recognized and was spearheaded by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). It was first established in 1990. Since then it has grown increasingly popular and more widely recognized, especially on college campuses.
Williams decided to bring MHAW to Northeastern last fall when she noticed a significant portion of her friends being affected by varying degrees of mental illness. She then noticed how prevalent it was amongst all majors, grades and social groups. Using her many networks—including her friends from her computer science major and Greek life—Williams hosted a small week of events. Later that year, Jennifer Griffith started a Northeastern chapter of Active Minds—a mental health advocacy group. The two paired together to head this year’s event in a more centralized and organized manner.
Although Williams says she’s a bit overwhelmed by the large scale of this year’s events, she is nonetheless reassured that all their hard work is going to really make a difference on campus. Even inspiring just two people to have a dialogue with their friends would make a impact, “but the fact that there’s so many people responding makes it even better,” she says.
In big bold print on the MHAW fliers the week, reads “Talk More; Laugh More; Do More.” This tri-fold campaign summarizes the overall message of the week. “Talk more” is about being unafraid to address your emotions and actively fight the negative stigma of mental illness. “Laugh more” is about doing things that make you happy and relaxed. Finally “Do more” is about the action of seeking help, advocating for mental illness and helping your loved ones to keep themselves mentally healthy. On Sunday, these three tenants will be displayed proudly on the windows of the Curry center.
“It’s about bringing awareness that it’s okay to be stressed and its okay to be having a bad day, but its also okay to have diagnosable depression,” Williams says.
One such event that Williams is particularly excited about is called “Perceptions of Mental Illness in American Culture,” led by a speaker named Deborah Offner PhD. Williams says that Offner will tailor her presentation for Northeastern students specifically, who—with our coop program—are caught in this in between state of being “young professionals” and regular college kids. She will also talk about how Mental Illness is trivialized in our society.
Other events include a presentation about stress and sleep management, art therapy, yoga and meditation, and a screening of Silver Linings Playbook—a movie that works to break down the negative stigma behind mental illness.
Even if you don’t necessarily have to take a pill every morning, that doesn’t mean you don’t need to address your own mental health, Williams says. “I think the first steps are trying to be as open and honest as possible in your own lives.” According to Williams, if we all can take the time to make little difference in our own mental health then it will radiate to our friends and families.
“I want people to take away that this is an issue that needs to be talked about. Its not something that needs to be made a huge deal about but its not something to be trivialized,” Williams says, “We should just be aware of it and we should try to incorporate being healthy in our everyday lives.”
Through Mental Health Awareness Week, Northeastern is working to develop a more open community. With more talking, laughing and doing we can combat the power of stigma; we can live in an environment where our loved ones are no longer strangers.
For More Information and resources:
— https://www.facebook.com/ActiveMindsNU
—https://www.facebook.com/events/366295590168845/
—http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=mental_illness_awareness_week
—http://www.northeastern.edu/uhcs/
—http://www.activeminds.org