THUNDER BAY - The stress of classes, essays, and exams can sometimes be too much for some students, and while many try to hide how they are feeling, Lakehead University is once again using a national mental health awareness campaign to get students talking.
For the third year in a row, Lakehead hosted its Bell Let’s Talk Day in the Agora to encourage students to speak freely about mental health and learn more about resources that are available.
“I think it’s important because a lot of times students especially think that they need to look like they have it all together or that everything is fine,” said Irene Pugliese, manager of wellness services at the Lakehead University Student Health and Wellness Centre. “They feel really self-conscious or nervous about admitting that they are stressed out or struggling.”
The day included a ball pit to start the conversation around mental health, a wall where students could write words of encouragement, therapy dogs, and information was on hand on resources available to students.
“It’s important for people to talk about that because it’s really normal,” Pugliese said. “A lot of students are going to experience stress sometimes. If we normalize that and make it okay to talk about, it can be dealt with at the beginning stages instead of when it gets worse.”
Bell Let’s Talk is a national campaign aimed at ending the stigma around mental health. Bell donates 5 cents from all text messages and social media posts that use the hashtag #BellLetsTalk to mental health services.
At Lakehead, the campaign falls within Thrive Week, where events are taking place all week to encourage people to take care of their mental health and well-being.
According to Pugliese, the Bell Let’s Talk Day has been a big success for the past three years.
“A lot of students come out,” she said. ”They recognize the Bell Let’s Talk brand, they know what it’s about, they like reading the inspirational messages.”
“My other role is in counselling at the Student Health and Wellness Centre and I know that after this event we have students come in and say I’ve thought about talking to someone for a really long time and then when I saw Bell Let’s talk or this event, it motivated me to actually do it. It really does encourage people to reach out for help.”
