UF Student Government continued its Mental Health Awareness Week on Thursday. Here's what went on:
Fighting mental health stigmas
Devin Gregory finds strength in a tattoo, a semicolon on his right forearm. When the 21-year-old debated suicide as a high-school student, he felt like his sentence needed a period.
"I had a complete thought," the UF psychology and criminology and law senior said. "I was prepared to end my life."
On Thursday evening, Gregory attended Student Government’s "Turning on the Light" talk because he said he believes starting a dialogue about mental health is necessary to understand it. The talk, held in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom, was part of SG’s Mental Health Awareness Week and served to combat the stigma around psychological health and introduce students to campus resources.
About 20 students listened to Laurel Nesbit, project coordinator of the Alachua County Crisis Center, who told them suicide is the second leading killer among people ages 15 to 24.
The theme of the night was shattering the stigma around these topics and beginning a dialogue among students.
"Mental health has always been a dark and forbidden topic," Nesbit said. "You don’t have to engage in that conversation alone."
To show students what kinds of mental-health resources UF provides, the directors of the Counseling & Wellness Center; U Matter, We Care; the Disability Resource Center and Gator Well explained the causes, signs and solutions to dealing with suicide, depression and anxiety.
Tanja Philhower, UF assistant dean of students, said students should listen to the voice inside their heads. That can save their lives.
If something doesn’t seem right, she said, it’s vital not to ignore that gut feeling and talk to someone who cares, whether that be a family member, friend or counselor.
For Gregory, learning to love himself took time. For others, he said, it’s difficult to understand his struggle because they can’t imagine fitting their feet in his shoes. He said although society may want to ignore his story, he won’t stop telling it.
"I think there’s always stigma around the things we don’t fully understand," he said. "It’s cool that I get to talk to people about it."
Flying yoga and hammocks
Eun Jin Chun giggled as she hung upside down on the Plaza of the Americas on Thursday.
The UF linguistics doctoral student was one of dozens of students to try flying hammock yoga at Student Government Health Affairs Cabinet’s "Stress Free with SG." The event was part of SG’s first Mental Health Awareness Week and served to relieve students’ stress before final exams. It cost $1,590.
While some students covered a banner in signed paper hands to show that everyone has a hand in how mental health is perceived, others wrapped themselves in green mesh and hung upside down. Chun said hammocking was relaxing and surprisingly easy.
"I really want to have this one in my house," the 37-year-old said.
The event served to tell students with mental health disorders they can find help and hope, said Rachna Sannegowda, the Health Affairs Cabinet director. The 19-year-old said these disorders can include depression and eating disorders.
"It should really be treated like something you should get better from," the UF biomedical engineering sophomore said.
For the three hours that students mingled on the Plaza, they were taught how to de-stress. Tori Hall, a UF RecSports yoga instructor, said students can chill out through exercise, like flying hammock yoga. She taught attendees the new form of yoga.
RecSports will offer flying hammock yoga classes in the Spring, the 20-year-old said.
"It’s kind of like Cirque du Soleil, but it’s really easy," the UF applied physiology and kinesiology junior said.
Continuing the fight
This week, Student Government taught students about mental health. Today, it will host "Continuing the Fight" on Turlington Plaza from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., where students will be reminded about the importance of fighting mental-health stigmas.
Contact Martin Vassolo at mvassolo@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @martindvassolo
Contact Caitlin Ostroff at costroff@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @ceostroff
Eun Jin Chun, a UF linguistics doctoral student, tries aerial hammock yoga at “Stress Free with SG” on Dec. 3, 2015. The 37-year-old said after seeing other students doing it on the Plaza of the Americas, she wanted to try the activity herself.
