By Mackenzie Clark
Mental health disorders tend to have a negative reputation in society, but a campus group is working towards taking away that negative connotation.
Active Minds @ JCCC is the college’s local chapter of the national organization Active Minds, which is dedicated to the goal of destigmatizing mental health problems for young adults on college campuses across the nation. They aim to raise awareness of the issues in order to encourage anyone in need of help to seek it without fear or shame.
“One in three people, at some point in their life, will qualify for a psychological diagnosis,” said Susie Sympson, advisor to Active Minds. “And yet when people look at that, they don’t look at it the same way as somebody who has diabetes or other physical disorders.”
In addition to helping students directly, Sympson would like to hold sessions for faculty to teach them signs of distress they should watch for in their students.
“It’s that, ‘Let’s not talk about it, let’s keep it hidden. We don’t want to embarrass people.’ But until people start coming out and talking about that, it’s gonna continue with that stigma that keeps people silent,” Sympson said.
If a professor has immediate concerns, he or she can refer a student to the counseling center for an emergency session, Sympson said.
Active Minds has also helped its members to grow and change since it has existed.
“We agreed to do this as a class project, but I ended up loving it because it brought me closer to the school and I now see [the college] as not only a place where I learn but as a place where I can grow as a person,” said Gabrielle Bryant, former vice president and current member of Active Minds. “I don’t think I’d be running for student senate right now if I hadn’t gone to meetings and met with other people in the school. I’ve made a lot of friends this way.”
This year, the group is tasked with composing a list of resources from a national hotline level down to local support, in addition to other projects. They are also attempting to gather more members for the upcoming year and schedule meetings to discuss what they will do.
“We lost basically all of the members that helped start it, so it’s almost like we have to start over again,” Bryant said, “but I think we’ll be there someday.”
If you would like to become involved with the college’s chapter of Active Minds, please contact Susie Sympson at ssympson@jccc.edu.
Contact Mackenzie Clark, features editor, at mclark68@jccc.edu.