BuzzFeed does Mental Health Week (Photo By: Andrew Richard/BuzzFeed)
On Sunday December 6th, BuzzFeed launched their newest campaign: Mental Health Week.
Though BuzzFeed is known for making inspiring and helpful videos among other things, they had never ventured as far as to dedicate an entire week to the topic of mental health.
The reason behind the desicion, according to BuzzFeed’s Editor-In-Chief, Ben Smith in a letter he released on the site yesterday, is that the media can have a serious impact on mental health: how it is percieved in our society being one of the biggest changes that media can make.
“This is a great gift of the digital age: Our ability to fight shame and isolation. When we have the courage to talk openly about ourselves, and about our struggles, the people who hear and see us don’t have to feel alone. And digital media has been central to driving the cultural change. We’ve found at BuzzFeed that some of the most powerful responses to our work have come from people who watched and read about mental health, and who felt less alone, less at fault,” he said.
Smith’s powerful reason behind the campaign is one that has been echoed by many people in regards to mental health: which is the idea that by de-stigmatizing mental health in the media, we can change people’s views on mental health and use technology to connect people to the resources they need to both get help and simply feel a little better each day.
So far this week, BuzzFeed has produced some really beautiful and intriguing content on the topic of mental health: articles explaining creative and relaxing ways to channel depression and anxiety, videos of real people telling their stories of their struggles and their recovery, ways to use technology on your road to recovery and plenty of pieces that detail different ways to help a friend who is struggling, educate yourself on the topic, or simply feel a little bit better when you need it.
One of the videos featured on Buzzfeed for Mental Health Week.
BuzzFeed will be producing content on mental health all week, so be sure to check their website and Facebook pages for tips, videos, lists and articles.
Would you like to see Her Campus UConn do a #MentalHealthWeek in the future? Let us know on our Twitter (@UConnHC) or in the comments section below!