Everyday, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. In between those two events, every person is given the chance to experience a new day. Not all days are cheerful. Not all days are amazing. But some will lead to the best memories of your life. You never know how your day is going to go, but for the most part there is a pretty good chance that it’ll at least be okay. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to experience okay days often, as about 40 percent of college students across the United States suffer from clinical depression.
Clinical depression shows itself as a loss of interest in daily activities and a persistent feeling of sadness, and is often a major cause of suicide attempts. It’s hard to imagine that so many people are impacted by this disorder because of the lack of conversation about it. We live in an age where everyone seems to be living the best days of their life because that is all we see about them on their social media sites. Realistically, social media only portrays one side of a person. The girl who looks happy in her latest Instagram selfie could just as easily be suffering from clinical depression as you. Your friend who always talks about how horrible his life is? It might be more than just a complaint about being a broke, overtired college student.
It’s time to start noticing the signs, it’s time to be aware, and most importantly, it’s time to start the conversation about mental health. It might seem scary and you might think it’s uncool to start talking about the real problem that mental disorders are, but be that person. We are fortunate to be attending a campus with numerous resources and events targeting the issue of mental health stigma. One important event coming up on at UMaine October 2nd at is the Out of the Darkness Walk. This is a collaboration between the community of Orono, the University of Maine and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in an effort to raise funds for educational events, hotlines and other suicide prevention methods. Read the list below to find out more information about this event!
1) REGISTRATION: Register online at http://afsp.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=3967 or in person between 12:30 pm and 2:00 pm on the day of the event.
2) TIME & PLACE: The event will begin on the mall in front of Fogler Library. Registration begins at 12:30 pm and the walk begins at 2:00 pm on October 2nd.
3) If you would like to participate in the walk but do not want to do it alone, join the UMaine Active Minds team and walk with fellow students! You can do this on the day of the event or on the online registration website.
Be the person to spark the conversation, sign up to participate in the Out of the Darkness Walk today!