13: Active Minds- "Changing the Conversation About Mental Health"

I recently had several discussions regarding mental health  - not just for someone with mental illness, but for all of us. I mean, every little bit of health and happiness adds up for all of us, right? Active Minds and I had a few emails, though I am woefully behind in correspondence but love what they do and represent. Active Minds "empowers students to change the perception about mental health on college campuses." (http://activeminds.org) Most people associated with people who have mental illness know that one of the loneliest parts about it is the stigma. Even undiagnosed cases of depression can cause stress for someone worried about perception. The best organizations address this as part of their mission or programming, and Active Minds is dedicated to combatting the stigma. There are 442 student-led chapters at universities nationally and internationally supporting advocacy and education for mental health. Active Minds has many programs you can find here: http://activeminds.org/our-programming. 
My two favorite programs make me want to begin college again so I can support them here. The first is "Send Silence Packing" and is a powerful visual representation of college suicides. Backpacks from loved ones of suicide victims are collected, with each backpack representing up to 100 people affected by that suicide. The backpacks are spread out in areas of campus with high traffic, "giving a visual representation of the scope of the problem and the number of victims. " With 1100 college suicides each year, that's at least 11,000 people affected my suicide - people who may have been helped with early intervention. Pictures are better than words: 

The other program I find amazing is PostSecretU, which you will love if you are familiar with the Post Secret Books. 

What Is PostSecretU?Active Minds PostSecretU is a campus-based community art project that uses submitted secrets to unlock tremendous programming potential on a campus. These live displays spark conversation, raise hidden issues important to the community, and provide direction for future programming, advocacy, and change.
PostSecretU is available to Active Minds chapters as well as unaffiliated college and university organizations. PostSecretU is the OFFICIAL PostSecret event for college campuses as endorsed by Frank Warren, creator of the popular PostSecret blog and best-selling books. For safety and copyright reasons, running unofficial PostSecret programs is not permitted. Using PostSecretU materials exclusively is required when holding events of this type on campus. 

http://activeminds.org/our-programming/postsecretu 

There is so much more to Active Minds than I can adequately represent here, but please if you ever have feelings of suicide or self-harm, call the National Suicide Hotline at 800-273-TALK or text "BRAVE" to 741-741.

Meanwhile, the best thing you can do for someone you know to help someone else is here: http://activeminds.org/issues-a-resources/be-a-friend. If you want to improve your mental health or feel stigmatized and want to find like-minded people, please take a look at http://getstigma.com, an app changing the lives of so many people. 

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