Mental Health Day within the McMaster Community

C/O Emily Underworld, Unsplash

Do 24 hours truly suffice for such a complex topic?

On Oct. 10, 1992, Global Mental Health Day was introduced to the world. The day aims to bring attention to mental health and educate the public. Corporations, groups and the general public try their best to open as many discussions about mental health as they can. 

However, this day dedicated to the conversation that pertains to mental health is a widely debated topic. Amelia J. Joseph, one of McMaster University’s associate professors in the School of Social Work, tweeted about this day. Joseph questioned whether or not a single day in itself can truly make the difference it hopes to achieve.

Zeinab Khawaja, a health promotor at the McMaster Student Wellness Centre, described how the SWC views Mental Health Day and how it ties into their work. 

“I think any opportunity that highlights mental health [is] a good thing to have, but for [SWC], it is a year-round thing where we are trying to educate people around different mental health and well-being topics . . . It is something we are focusing on all the time, so Mental Health Day is just one extra day where, maybe, more people are talking about it,” explained Khawaja. 

Khawaja spoke about how extending conversations pertaining to mental health beyond one day can come from the little things. 

“For me, it is small things, like being honest when someone asks you how you are doing. Checking in on your friends, being vulnerable and taking risks. Sometimes it is sharing what you are struggling with instead of pretending you are not or that you shouldn’t be. I think the more people who take that little bit of a risk to acknowledge what’s going on with themselves, the less stigmatized it gets,” said Khawaja.

Though the SWC offers opportunities for communication, many students often find that when they do try to reach out they are left more confused than when they had started. 

Anisah Ali, a second-year health and society student with a mental health specialization, spoke about their own experiences with mental health. 

“As I’ve grown older, Mental Health Day is still important in terms of destigmatizing mental health in general, but I don’t think it creates sufficient change for those that do experience mental health issues,” said Ali.

Ali is one student that has experience using SWC resources. 

“I went to them for help and they were nice in terms of hearing me out which helps because someone was there to listen. They would provide me tips on anxiety, for example, but it wasn’t sufficient enough in terms of fundamental changes to handle these things better in your life,” explained Ali.

Lucas Mei, a second-year linguistics student, also accessed SWC’s counselling service. When Mei called the SWC seeking immediate help, the SWC presented him with times to speak with a counsellor that were weeks or months away. Mei explained that the experience was frustrating so he ended up not booking an appointment at all. 

“I ended up hanging up the phone because that was ridiculous,” said Mei.

Mei added that there was no follow-up from anyone in SWC after the phone call. Though he was disappointed with the way it was all handled, he was aware it was because of the shortage of counsellors for this particular service. 

Abrar Khan, a second-year in electrical engineering, also had difficulty finding mental health resources while studying from out of the country. For Khan, it wasn’t clear where he could access resources or who he was supposed to contact. 

Unfortunately, Khan said that he did not end up receiving the help he needed. Khan believes resources like these should be attached to more student familiar sites such as Mosaic.  

Brenda and Cinthiya, co-presidents of MSU COPE, a student mental health initiative, talked about how vital it is to keep the conversation going beyond just a single day.

“We all need time to take a step back and look at where we are, so [Mental Health Day] gives a specific day to tune into ourselves. The landscape is constantly changing and it’s a reminder of where we are and what we have to do to get to where we want to be,” said Brenda. 

“It is important to acknowledge that just because it’s Mental Health Day doesn’t mean it is the only time to acknowledge mental health,” explained Cinthiya. 

Anika Anand, Director of MSU’s Student Health Education Center, also shared similar sentiments in terms of Mental Health Day and its effectiveness. She added that institutions, like McMaster, can foster a more open environment.

“Bell is notorious for having this yearly ‘Let’s talk day’ but their working conditions are also notorious for being extremely toxic and unhealthy for their workers. So I look at, not necessarily McMaster, but the McMaster Student Union and I look at the way they are treating their part-time managers, who are running each of these student-run clubs. The work environment is completely toxic and I think that if you’re going to talk about mental health on Mental Health Day, you have an inherent responsibility to start working actively to make your organizations have an environment in which that is even possible,” explained Anand.

The discussion of academics and the culture it breeds came into the discussion as well.

“I think that professors need access to adequate training, not necessarily to treat mental health problems because they are not health care professionals or crisis responders, but they are people who are trusted, or at least they are supposed to be,” said Anand. 

Anand added that there is a disconnect between the accommodations provided by the Student Accessibility Services and how different professors handle students requesting accommodations.

“It needs to be more connected. So that we build a sense of community because, as we all know, community connections lead to better mental wellness,” explained Anand.

Mental health is a topic that affects each and every single person differently. Though a day like this may be vital to opening the door to deeper conversations, continuing them everyday is what can truly create the difference.