SPRINGFIELD—The Psych Club held an event in the R.H Stephens on Wednesday April 17 and the Gay-Straight alliance partnered with the club for this event. The event was about mental health and college students.

Natasha Trame, who is the Professor of Psychology, said the purpose for this event was to “introduce student, faculty, and staff to the topic of mental health and college students. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention supports the showing of this film, followed by discussion, in bringing greater awareness to the signs/symptoms of mental health problems, and the resources available to help with these problems. This is part of a prevention effort. The film is a documentary, showing several “real” college students who have struggled with mental health. It takes the viewer through the college life experiences of these students and discusses signs/symptoms and how to access resources on and off college campuses. It is my hope that this awareness can lead to prevention.” She wanted to add the LGBTQ+ was brought up as well in this event due to the LGBTQ+ college student population is of particular risk of suicide or suicide attempts.

There were many topics that were discussed and one important topic that was discussed is the stigma surrounding mental health and how this makes it difficult for people to talk about it or even ask for help. Trame said “It is something that is changing in our culture, but we still have a long way to go in improving our attitude and ideas about mental health. The club members sharing their own experiences helped the participants in the event feel more comfortable discussing this.” Other important topics included the signs and symptoms of anxiety and depression and the resources offered to help with these symptoms. Stress management was also discussed.

I asked what some information for students and faculty is that didn’t get to make the event, Trame said, “I think it’s important to look for and to know what to do if a student presents with these signs/symptoms. They need to be aware of the resources that we have on campus, (licensed counselors) and in the community. Our counselors can help connect a student with the proper resources within the community. They work very closely with our community agencies. It’s also important to educate about the importance of prevention. Awareness/Education brings prevention.”

Trame hopes what the students and faculty take away from coming to the event is to have a better understanding of the signs/symptoms of anxiety and depression and understand when it is time to ask for help. I hope that they also learned some methods of stress management and the resources we have available here on campus to help them.

Some ways that Trame said that can help prevent suicide is Awareness/education is key. (EDIT: “Trame also says that education and awareness are key when it comes to suicide prevention”) The more people will utilize these resources. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, it is estimated that 90-95 percent of those who die by suicide have some form of a treatable mental health condition at the time of their deaths. Nationally, anxiety and depression are the two most common mental health conditions experienced by college students. We find the same trend here on our campus. Prevention efforts must be ongoing, and we plan to show the film again (perhaps each semester) and provide information about these conditions and resources available for students, faculty, and staff. Here is the link to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention https://afsp.org/our-work/education/real-college-students-mental-health/ https://afsp.org/

Madison Mings can be reached at [email protected]