Learning Challenge: Mental Health Testimonies
Links to video:
I think mental health issues are often disregarded and deemed as stupid or not important. I actually know Ivey Dyson and when you meet her she has a very positive energy and you would never know she suffers from anxiety. I think that is the biggest reason why people disagreed it because oftentimes your peers have no idea what you are suffering from a mental health issue because we choose to hide it from society. Although it takes time for us to want to share about our struggles once you do you realize that you are only helping someone else who may share the same struggle and if anyone makes fun of you then they have something they are hiding and are jealous that they do not have the guts to share it. I love what Ivey said about learning to live with her anxiety. In the end, we cannot change our reality, but we can learn ways to better ourselves because of it.
The second video I watched was Copper Lund. I did not personally know him but I knew of him because he was so involved in Soonerthon. I remember these stories coming out on OU Daily my sophomore year and thought to myself how proud I was to be part of a campus where students feel comfortable sharing about their struggles. I like that Copper is taking the time to share his struggles and realizing that he probably will always struggle with it, but he is not going to let that completely destroy him. My favorite part of the video was where he is encouraging the discussion of depression. If we discuss it more people will understand it and instead of disregarding it. I do not have depression but I have friends that do and I sometimes forget even if I spend a lot of time convincing them to not let it affect them they still may not be able to do that. Not because they do not want to but simply because that is what happens when you have Depression. All we can do is be a support system and let them freely talk about it.
This has been one of my favorite assignments and I love that even though the class has nothing to do with mental illnesses we still can use it as a platform to discuss important issues.
How great that you know Ivey, Alanna! Cooper was in Myth-Folklore a couple years ago, which is how I first became aware of these videos and I am so glad the OU Daily makes it all available for people to use. It seems to me that school success has to be about more than just tests and grades, and I really like the way these videos remind us that we are all just people, coping with life like people do, and relying on others for help when we need it (and that goes for faculty just as much as for students!). I wish school did not make people hesitate to ask for help; to me, that is one of the most powerful messages in these videos: you have to be ready to ask for help, and not be shy to do that... and then all kinds of good things can happen! :-)
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