By Kit Fitzgerald
Two days after the first mental-health fair for the University of Iowa, International World Health Day addresses this year’s topic — depression.The World Health Organization annually hosts World Health Day, celebrated on April 7. The organization’s website said the day provides everyone with a unique opportunity to mobilize action on a specific health topic of concern to people all over the world.
“[I like] anything that brings to the forefront healthy emotional management and to destigmatize seeking out services,” said Paula Keeton, associate director/director of Clinical Services for the University Counseling Service. “I think anything like that is going to be positive.”
She said that with the mental-health fair, held Wednesday, the UI focused on mental-health awareness.
Kelin Silber, the president of Active Minds, said the fair, called Fresh Check, was hosted by 17 organizations, which had interactive and informational booths that focused on mental health.
“A lot of it was about advocacy and doing your part in helping people who are feeling depressed or even considering suicide,” Silber said. “[Also], taking the time to recognize that you do have mental health, and sitting down and spending some time checking it, I guess … to make sure you’re doing OK, and then if you need support, you can find it.”
UI Student Government Sen. Lily Burns said the fair was also about students finding resources.
“Two-thirds of students who are suffering from a mental-health concerns will not seek counseling services,” Silber said. “That’s way too much for something that’s so prominent.”
Burns said there is often a waiting period for those seeking help from University Counseling, and the fair provided students with other resources.
Silber said he personally struggled with depression, and the hardest part was feeling alone and that nobody knew what he was going through.
“In reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said. “There are plenty of people who were having very similar struggles to me, but I just didn’t know. Once I found out there were others, I had people I could talk to, and I felt a lot better.”
Both the mental-health fair and the World Health Day encourage people to speak up and seek help for their mental health.
Silber said this was part of a mental-health revolution across college campuses.
“Years back, this never would have been a possibility,” he said. “I mean, we would have never talked about mental health.”
Silber said the next steps include continuing the conversation of mental health and working with the university to help students.
“We’ve been able to create a mental-health fee to hire eight new counselors,” Burns said. “And [we] have embedded counselors in the residence halls.”
Both Silber and Burns said student feedback will be key, and Silber said he thinks the steps that have been made are awesome.
“[Mental health] is big enough that there’s a whole fair, a whole day devoted to it,” he said. “Hopefully for people who are thinking that they’re alone, this will push them to realize they really aren’t.”
