“There was no such thing as mental health when you were picking cotton in a field,” said Ian Green, 21, as he reflected on how the black community views mental health.
Inside the Reitz Union on Tuesday, Green and five other panelists discussed their experiences with how minority communities view mental health to a group of about 15 people.
The discussion, moderated by Counseling & Wellness Center psychologist Analesa Clarke, was held on the first day of Student Government’s annual Mental Health Awareness Week.
Clarke said an individual’s culture may influence how he or she views mental health.
“I think it’s really important that we discuss these issues,” she said. “No one is immune.”
Green, 21, said he didn’t learn about mental health until college. Older generations look back to the hardships of slavery and civil rights to rationalize that mental health isn’t a concern for younger people, the UF business administration and economics junior said.
John Kim, 20, said the South Korean community is similar in that mental health issues, especially among men, isn’t discussed.
“People don’t talk about it too much because they don’t want to be a burden to others,” the UF microbiology and cell science junior said.
Jarrett Repasky, a 19-year-old UF wildlife ecology and conservation freshman, said he valued learning about diverse students’ experiences. He said he knew about the event through one of his friends who was a panelist.
“One thing I was surprised about was that the turnout wasn’t as big,” he said.
Upcoming events during Mental Health Awareness Week
- Today: Taking the First Step resource event on the North Lawn from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Thursday: Stress Free with SG meditation event with free Starbucks coffee and iced tea on Turlington Plaza from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Thursday: Rise Above event with free dessert in the Reitz Union Amphitheatre from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- Friday: Continuing the Fight event with free stress-reducing kits on Turlington Plaza from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Contact Paige Fry at pfry@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @paigexfry
From Left: Analesa Clarke, Ronit Dastidar, Nyasha Joseph, John Kim, Ian Green, Robert Lemus and Alex Chaves discuss mental health in a panel on Tuesday. The event was during the first day of Student Government's annual Mental Health Awareness Week.
