Check Your Head discusses student depression, suicide

Counseling Services hosted Check Your Head Day last Wednesday as part of a campaign to help promote mental health awareness. A partnership has been formed between Counseling Services and The GIVE Center to create programs that heighten awareness about college depression and suicide.
Michael Christopher, a freshman at GCSU, thought that the Check Your Head campaign was a good way to make college students more aware of depression and suicide.
“College students are in a new environment, and I can even feel myself stressing out, and it does take a toll on people,” Christopher said. “I can see why it’s important to help make these issues known on college campuses.”
Jennifer Strole, a counselor at GCSU, spent the past year putting this event together with help from The GIVE Center.
“Planning for this started about a year ago,” Strole said. “I read about Check Your Head in an advertisement, and I thought that it would be a good way to promote awareness about depression and suicide on this campus.”
Check Your Head is a subset of mpower, a national youth awareness campaign sponsored by the National Mental Health Association. Mpower works with emerging and well-known musicians to educate young people about depression, suicide and other mental health issues.
“The phrase ‘Check Your Head’ is actually lyrics from a Beastie Boys song,” Strole said. “Check Your Head means exactly what it says. I thought students could catch on to this phrase and remember to evaluate their mental health.”
Students were able to learn about Check Your Head during lunch hours at Sodexho. An informational table was set up with brochures, information on counseling services and Check Your Head bracelets were given out.
The campaign continued during Project Impact. The theme of September’s Project Impact was suicide/depression prevention and awareness, and Check Your Head fit in perfectly with the theme.
“Dead Poets Society” was shown and Strole hosted a discussion. The discussion focused on depression and suicide, and information was given about warning signs, prevention and ways to help individuals who are dealing with these issues.
According to the NMHA, key warning signs of depression and suicide include: social withdrawal, inability to cope with everyday problems, changes in eating habits, strong feels of anger, substance abuse, lack of enthusiasm and poor self-esteem.
Paul Sedor, assistant director of The GIVE Center, attended the event and helped discuss ways to deal with these issues.
“On a small campus like GCSU, people should be able to feel connected to others,” Sedor said. “We should strive to make everyone feel welcomed, and to know that if they need help, not to be scared to seek it.”
GCSU student Patty Maguire also attended Project Impact and thought the Check Your Head bracelets were a useful reminder.
“I am a forgetful person, and the Check Your Head bracelet will be helpful because all I have to do is look at my wrist and I will be reminded about depression and suicide, and ways to deal with them and outlets if I need help,” Maguire said.
Ashley Ackerman, a freshman mass communication major, has never had to deal with depression or suicide, but sees Check Your Head as a valuable resource to help deal with these issues.
“I can’t really relate to depression or suicide because I have not known anyone who has had to deal with those issues,” Ackerman said. “But I still feel as if Check Your Head is a good way to make mental health a top priority.”
Strole is hoping that students will see the Check Your Head bracelets and ask questions about what they mean.
“I am hoping that these bracelets help spread the word about suicide and depression among college students, and also help them to become more aware about their mental health,” Strole said. “I really do think that these bracelets are a good way to get the point across.”
Co-sponsors of this campaign included Health Services, The GIVE Center and GCSU’s Counseling Services.
Students can learn more about depression and suicide during Mental Health Awareness week, which takes place the first week of October. They can also find more information about Check Your Head at www.mpoweryouth.org.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 29 2006. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry