Participants stood in a classroom and moved to either side as words were called out.
Psychotic. Personality disorder. Feeling hopeless. Life of the party. Risk-taker.
People moved to each side based on whether they thought the description fit mentally well or unwell as part of an event by Alpha Kappa Alpha and therapists from Counseling and Psychological Services on Tuesday evening. The event dealt with mental health stigma as part of Elimination of Prejudice Week, sponsored by Pi Lambda Phi, a fraternity founded on inclusiveness.
Other events in Elimination of Prejudice Week include discussions on gender, religion and mental health. Students have also been able to write words they feel are prejudicial on a wall that has been moving around campus. On Saturday, the wall will be broken down.
“The main goal was decreasing the mental health stigma and having a more open conversation about mental health disorders,” said Laura Conner, a presenter at the event and therapist at CAPS.
AKA makes it a goal to be the host of or participate in events that raise mental health awareness as part of their initiative as an organization, said senior Justus Coleman, president of the IU chapter of AKA.
“It’s my hope that the take-away is thinking through those stigmas and working to eliminate them,” Coleman said.
The presentation identified signs of distress and response skills, including how to have a conversation with someone in distress. Tips include naming the signs you have observed, expressing concern and using active listening skills. Toward the end of the presentation, participants were given a scenario about someone in distress and discussed how to handle the situation.
“It helped me have a better understanding of how to deal with someone that has a mental health issue,” Coleman said.
The event was also a way to put a face to CAPS and encourage students to visit CAPS if they needed help or to talk to someone, Conner said.
“It’s a big barrier coming into our office, and the stigma hinders students from being able to advocate for themselves,” Conner said.
CAPS also has other outreach opportunities in the effort to erase stigma, said Kellen Fox, presenter and therapist at CAPS. These include peer counseling, informal counseling conversations and professional counseling.
“It’s important to realize everyone struggles at some point and it’s normal. It’s okay to reach out and get help,” Fox said.
Conner also said having a mental health issue is common and if it’s not talked about, the stigma will grow.
“These are common things, and everyone goes through it at some point, it’s normal,” Conner said. “Ignoring the stigmas means you miss out on opportunities to let people live their best lives.”
The biggest goal of the week is to eliminate prejudice and bring attention to the existing prejudices on our campus, said junior Jason Frank, member of Pi Lambda Phi.
“We thought it was in an issue in our society that these words are normal, an everyday part of life,” Frank said.
