Jodie Vanderslot | Health Editor
Featured Image: There is no single experience of mental illness; no one way to paint a picture of how it looks. | Courtesy of Tumisu
Diagnosing and treating mental illness is often challenging because it manifests differently in everyone and affects people in different ways. Symptoms and treatments are not universal, but instead are completely relative to the individual—this is why we need to start asking what people need, instead of telling them.
Renee Raymond is a York graduate and registered kinesiologist and cognitive-behavioural therapist pursuing her Masters in Mental Health Psychology. She has recently opened up a nationwide writing contest to gather mental health stories from post-secondary students.
The MindfullyYou initiative is an effort to move beyond national surveys and percentages, to highlight the importance of and recognize the meaningful impact that personal testimonies and accounts can have on the health care system when added to the conversation. Raymond is gathering first-hand experiences from students facing mental health struggles and difficulties.
“I just believe that as much data is out there that a lot of students accessing different resources, I don’t feel that there’s a clear enough picture of what they’re actually struggling with or what sort of difficulties there are,” she says. “I think by sharing stories we will be able to provide better resources for students.”
The MindfullyYou website is a platform where students can openly or anonymously share their experiences and have their voices heard. It’s a chance for students to express what they feel would benefit them, and what would make their education and mental health more manageable. Current students, or those who have graduated in the past three years, are able to participate in a contest. The author of the winning story will receive a $1,000 award that can be put towards their schooling, access to treatment, or whatever they choose. Students can submit their stories or poems on how mental illness has affected them as Canadian students until November 30, 2017 on the MindfullyYou website, where complete details and instructions are listed. It’s a chance to work collaboratively with students’ unique opinions, beliefs, and to ensure that their concerns are acknowledged and validated.
Once the contest has closed, students will have the opportunity to have their stories shared in an anthology of student mental health experiences that Raymond is hoping to publish.
“I’m a big believer in community health care and having systems in place outside of just traditional forms of counselling to support individuals,” Raymond says.
The challenges in one particular region may not be consistent in other parts of Canada, explains Raymond. The aim is to gather a variety of experiences and bring forth issues in order to work towards the best means of support for that specific community and individual.
