Despite the rain, more than 90 people were eager to walk around campus on May 18 to bring awareness about mental illnesses. Participants said they learned mental health is not something to be ashamed of and needs to be discussed because it affects more people than many think.
Booths were displayed around the walk route. For every booth, there were volunteers from the BYU–Hawaii Psychology Department discussing various mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression and their signs.
According to activeminds.org, 39 percent of college students “experience a significant mental health issue… and two out of three students with anxiety or depression don’t seek treatment.”
Assistant Psychology Professor Dr. Eric Orr remarked, “There are so many different barriers to accessing services. A lot of people feel a lot of shame or embarrassment about it and they don't feel like they can access the services.”
He explained the event was meant to help remove barriers. He said people can be understanding to those who are experiencing mental health issues and can help them seek professional help.
“Having the people from the Counseling Center come and help us and be there and be part of the event helps people recognize, ‘Oh, I talked to him. I can maybe go back and talk to [the Counseling Center team] when I’m having an issue.’”
Orr said he collaborated with the Service Center to create this event. Booths were set up around campus and participants were given a map to follow.
Malinda Rogers, a sophomore from Colorado studying psychology and social work, said she helped organize the event as she is also Orr’s teaching assistant.
Rogers said she observed people were willing to listen and assist as they approached her. She shared the participants were thankful to learn more about ways they could help their friends who have depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses.
Orr said the inspiration for the event came from his psychology class. They go to Honolulu for the annual mental illness awareness walk to help educate more people around the topic. His students then recommended promoting mental health [awareness] on campus.
“The students suggested this might be a good idea to do here rather than go down there [to Honolulu], and help our campus or community [increase] their awareness on mental health,” Orr explained.
Liahona Angelie, a senior from Indonesia studying biochemistry, shared, “There’s [a number] of international students here, so there’s a lot of stress because maybe they're away from home and they’re new with this situation… So I think it's really great for them to learn what they can do and what it is about, so they don't underestimate [mental illnesses].”
Alyssa Allen, the supervisor for the Service Center, said, “Because of the need for mental health awareness, we talked to our instructors about it, and asked them if they would be okay to help us promote this kind of event”
Allen, a senior from Colorado studying humanities, said they helped the psychology department with the planning and taught them what kind of advertising they needed to do and made sure the event was following school policies.
Students said the first-ever BYUH mental health awareness walk was a successful event. Angelie shared how it was nicely planned because, “we were moving, and we weren’t staying in one place and didn’t get bored of it.” She added, “[The way] they explained the topics were really good. It was clear.”
Writer: Esther Insigne