Next week, the Active Minds chapter at Auburn University will be hosting “Mental Wealth Week” to promote mental wellness and fight stigmas surrounding talking about it.
Active Minds is a national organization dedicated to creating discussions about mental health on college campuses.
Taylor Jean Annerino, vice president of Active Minds at Auburn University, said the greatest challenges Active Minds are trying to overcome are stigmas minimizing the importance of mental wellness.
“Sometimes, the term ‘mental health’ will scare people away,” Annerino said. “Some people do think it’s still kind of a taboo topic to talk about, so ‘mental wealth’ is kind of putting a positive spin on it.”
The week will begin with a panel on Monday night in the Foy Hall auditorium. The panelists will include a psychologist as well as representatives from the Veterans Association and LGBTQ community.
Mental Wealth Week will focus on a different, specific stigma surrounding mental wellness each day.
Gabrielle McKinnell, president of Active Minds at Auburn University, said Tuesday will focus on debunking the stigma claiming poor mental health is not a prevalent issue.
Annerino said she always had a passion for mental-health awareness because she dealt with it in her own family.
“It’s really just wonderful to know that there are organizations like this out there,” Annerino said.
McKinnell said Active Minds helped her recognize stigmas in her own life and feel more comfortable talking about her issues. She said she knew how prevalent mental illnesses were, but it wasn’t until she joined Active Minds that she was able to really see how big an issue it was.
“You can read all the statistics in the world, but it’s different whenever you show up to a meeting, and you see there are other people who care about this,” McKinnell said.
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