Alex Ducoulombier
On Friday, Oct. 13th, the University of West Georgia chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars held its first official Men’s Mental Health Panel.
At a time when men’s mental health is heavily stigmatized, the mental health panel offered male students the opportunity to have their questions answered and to be heard by others going through the same thing.
The panel began with an icebreaker to ease the nerves of the audience of about 20. This involved asking questions to get to know the audience, such as: what do you hope to gain from this, what makes you happy and what are your greatest strengths?
From there, one of the organizers began introducing the panelists. The panel consisted of three students and four professionals with varying degrees of experience on the topic of mental health.
Of the non-student panelists, there was one licensed therapist, a campus police officer, an associate director of career services and a man recovering from various mental health struggles.
The organizers then began to ask questions for the panelists to answer. The list of topics included therapy, childhood, stigmas in society and mental health resources.
As the panelists gave insightful stories and advice for young men struggling with their mental health, one could feel the heaviness of the room.
Some organizers and audience members were on the verge of tears as they listened to what the panelists had to say.
As time went on, one could quickly realize that men have much more in common with one another than one might assume when it comes to struggling with their mental health.
Another topic that the panelists and audience were able to relate to was the subject of racism in America.
One panelist began by sharing his encounters with racism as a black man growing up in predominantly white schools, which led to an audience member giving a heartfelt speech about how ostracized black men are in our country.
This opened up the conversation for the audience and other panelists to discuss their experiences with race-based discrimination.
On the same note, an audience member gave his story of discrimination by police in Carrollton. This invited the police officer panelist to give his insight into the topic, which eventually led to them finding common ground on the subject.
The discussion then moved to talking about the societal stigmas placed on men’s mental health. Namely, how many men feel that it isn’t acceptable to speak up about struggling mentally. The therapist discussed how common this is with men and that we must work to break this cycle.
The panel ended with the organizers and panelists discussing the numerous resources that are available to students at UWG.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues of any kind, you are not alone. Do not hesitate to set up an appointment at the campus counseling center, or call anytime at 678-839-6428.