There was a silence that filled the spaces between sentences and breaths in room 212. They were not awkward or uncomfortable, but engaged. A hair could be heard as it settled onto the floor, and I felt proud of the students strong enough to share their stories on stage.
On October 23, friends, students, and teachers alike gathered to listen to anecdotes about students’ personal experiences with mental health. The goal of this event is to combat the stigma that surrounds mental health. As a powerpoint presentation played in the background of speeches, I was struck by one of the facts that it read: 1 in 4 Americans are living with a diagnosable mental health disorder. With that in mind, in our small classrooms at the College of New Jersey, a class of 24 people will hold 6 people who have diagnosable mental disorders. That’s a massive number.
Many of the speakers on stage emphasized the statement, “You are not alone.” And with numbers like those above, you certainly are not. One of the major goals of this event is to make more people comfortable talking about topics regarding mental health, because we often forget just how common it is. My freshman year roommate had mental health disorders, some of my friends have them, and even some of my loved ones. It is important to remember that no matter how you are feeling, there is someone out there who can relate to you.
“Engaging in these conversations is exactly what we need to do to avoid what I candidly call a ‘national mental health crisis,’” said the third speaker of the night.
The statement above addresses the strong stigma that is so unfortunately present in our society. Perhaps because everyone does not understand mental health disorders, or maybe because people did not grow up talking about it, there needs to be more discussion. This discussion allows people to connect in ways not possible before. One of the speakers at the Stigmonologues revealed to four of her closest friends that she had depression, only to learn that two of them had anxiety, and the other two also suffered from depression.
This doesn’t mean you have to go shouting your problems out to the world, but the Stigmonologues hope to encourage TCNJ students to open up the conversation about mental health. In the wise words of the Stigmonologues powerpoint slides, “There is no health without mental health.”