The Wofford community advocates for mental health

Rachel Shinnick, president of Psychology Kingdom on campus, was the lead organizer behind the Breaking the Stigma Mental Health event series on campus the week of Nov. 6-8.  The series included a campus “green out,” a mental health banner and multiple events for students to come and share their personal struggles with mental illness. 

With May as National Mental Health Awareness month, Shinnick pitched the idea in the spring to Campus Union for the series and received funding for it. She said, “I spent the summer researching the best ways to approach this form of event and spoke with NAMI Spartanburg Director Sharyn Pittman. I felt it was necessary to implement a new approach to our club. I have personal experience with mental illness and I know how deeply the stigma surrounding it
affects our campus, so I wanted to do something to change that.”   

Margaret Roach, a member of the Psychology Kingdom, offered the help of the Wellness and Safety Committee, a committee of Campus Union she chairs. The series kicked off Tuesday at booths in Burwell and Zach’s with mental illness advocates handing out green stickers and ribbons. With green as the designated color representing mental health, this was a fun and interactive way for the Wofford community to show their support. Following this event, the Wellness Center held a time for students to come sign and decorate a banner to promote and raise awareness for mental health. Then, on Wednesday night, the Psych Kingdom partnered with the Wellness center to invite students on campus to come and share their personal stories regarding mental illness. On Thursday night, to finalize the event series, they hosted a documentary and discussion.
 

As for the goals of the event series, Shinnick said, “We want people who are struggling or who have struggled to feel like they can open up about their struggles and experiences without feeling ashamed or embarrassed about how others will view them.”   

In today’s society it is very common for people who suffer from mental illness to feel as though they are a burden to their friends and family.  Roach said, “More than 25 percent of college students have been diagnosed or treated by a professional for a mental health condition within the past year. What I– and we– want Wofford students to know is that whatever they are dealing with, they are never alone.” 

Often times, mental illness is thought of as “not a real illness,” in that it is largely unseen, existing primarily within the mind. It is because of this that so many people who struggle with mental illness stay silent about it. Roach said, “Silence maintains the stigma, which is the enemy of preventing and treating mental health conditions. Mental health conditions by definition can be extremely isolating.” This isolation it what makes it exceptionally important for students on a college campus to feel like they have a safe space to fully explore and live through their struggles. 

Shinnick said, “I think it is incredibly important to host this kind of event not [only] because there are so many options for students struggling with mental illness, but because it is so stigmatized to have an illness [that] people don’t seek out resources. By helping change this perception of mental illness, it could help someone come to terms with what they have and seek out help, or at least talk to someone about their problems.” 

Furthermore, Roach said, “The importance of mental health education and awareness on Wofford’s campus cannot be understated. We have to stop pretending like mental health is a dark, dirty secret and start treating it like it is preventable.” 

So, what can the Wofford family do to make sure those struggling with mental illness don’t feel threatened or alone?   

Shinnick said, “The Wofford Community can help those struggling with mental health by not aiding in the stigmatization of mental illness and rather encouraging people to speak up about their mental health. Often times it is considered weak to have mental health issues, but we cannot stress enough the importance of being mentally healthy. Mental health is just as important, if not more important, than being physically healthy.”   

About the Psychology Kingdom’s event series, Roach said, “We hope that Wofford students hear a message that they are not alone in their battle, and it is okay to get help. We also hope by igniting the conversation of mental health on campus, we will help break the stigma that surrounds mental health and make it normal and okay to talk about mental health with friends, professors and other loved ones! We can break the stigma surrounding mental health by breaking the silence. And that starts with us.”