Michelle Edwards is a senior at Chapman University pursuing her Bachelor's degree in Psychology. She also leads Active Minds on campus, an organization that promotes healthy discussions about mental illnesses, provides resources for those who need it, and aims to break the stigma on campus about mental illness. Read below for an interview on how society reproduces an idea of mental illness as weakness and imaginary and how we as students and future leaders can take practical steps to fight against those. There are endless negative stereotypes that surround the realm of mental illness. For one thing, talking about mental illness is considered a weak thing to do showing that there is a stigma about getting help and seeking out things like therapy. Also, each mental illness holds its own stigma or stereotype. Many people talk about Bipolar Disorder with huge misconceptions of individuals just being moody or going through a phase. The term "bipolar" is used casually to describe any person, even those without BPD, who is acting hot and cold. Another example of this is depression. It is a common mindset to believe that depression is just being sad, that it is something that comes and goes, and that it's just dramatization of something in your head. Because of actions and perspectives as these, people who actually have these illnesses feel invalidated and insecure, which hinders their healing even more. Active Minds is not a support group, but we do provide space for people to come and talk about their highs and lows in a comfortable and safe setting. People are able to speak openly about their diagnoses, illnesses, and struggles and are very supportive of each other sharing. The idea then is to try and mimic and expand this sort of accepting communication outside of Active Minds and into the rest of Chapman campus. Still, while it's great to have this club, we recognize that not everyone is going to brave enough to come to a meeting and many might be trying to deal with these things on their own. College is a place where mental illness flourishes due to the dangerous combination of newfound independence and overwhelming stress from school, friends, work, living situations, and more. Because there are so many obstacles that come with college, Chapman and Active Minds work with Student Psychological Counseling Services (SPCS) in order to actively pursue these conversations. While the services are excellent, we are currently working with the SGA to increase the amount of counselors on campus. SPCS provides 8 services to a student per semester due to their high demand, and we recognize that for many people this is not enough. We also host events such as NAMI Walk, Furry Friends for Finals, and the Metaphysical Mile in order to spread awareness and reach more people who might be intimidated in pursuing help. The Metaphysical Mile is one of my favorite events we put on. It starts with meditation, which we usually collaborate with the Mindfulness Club or Health and Healing Club on. Then we pass out pieces of paper with four prompts and ask people to write their story. They leave them anonymous, turn them in, and we pass them out to other people. The idea of this exercise is to put ourselves into someone else's shoes. In essence, this is an empathy building workshop. The event is different every year, but the great thing is that people will share similar stories, which shows us all that we are not alone in our journeys. When I meet new people and tell them that I have a mental illness, whether it's a history of depression or currently having anxiety, I am always worried people will judge me. Because of these stigmas, most people think that having a mental illness means I can't take care of myself or I'm not strong. So when I'm sharing about this, the scariest thing is people making that judgment. That's why Active Minds has been such a blessing for me. I wanted a club that was psychology-based, since that is what I'm studying. Active Minds was perfect because it fit my major and also helped me with my own mental illness history. For those who are struggling but are also afraid of seeking help, I would say find someone that you're comfortable with...someone that knows you really well and start there. It doesn't have to be something that you share with a lot of people, especially if you are afraid of the stigma. The best thing to do is just start a conversation about it and from there you can access more options. In other words, there are people that you can talk to without going to a therapist. We as human beings are social so we already look to others for support naturally. One important thing I've learned through all this is that we live in a progressive society so we shouldn't be afraid to speak our mind and talk to others about who we are. Your mental illness does not define you but it is a part of you. We all have mental health; we are all on the spectrum. Pursuing a Psychology major has been so fulfilling and humbling at the same time. Many people who study psychology do so to learn more about themselves in the process. I usually want to offer my own personal experience if we're learning about something I've experienced. My goal is to get my Masters in Social Work, become a social worker, and eventually go into therapy and work as a counselor. I also want to work with children of abuse. I recognize that this will be emotionally taxing since I'm such an empathetic person and internalize a lot of things so as I dive deeper into my field and career I must remember to make time to take care of myself as much as I take care of others. Michelle's Instagram: @chellekeepitfit
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11/14/2016 0 Comments What it's like to be in therapy1. Getting super dependent on your therapist and not being able to talk about anything else 2. Hating your therapist for making you realize things you didn't want to about your life 3. Feeling super depressed after your sessions and not being able to function like a normal human being 4. Trying to do things on your own because let's be real therapy is stressful and expensive and our society promotes being able to handle our shit by ourselves 5. Attempting to replace therapy with alcohol, coffee, attention from the opposite sex in the form of meaningless compliments, and Netflix
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