Mental health approached with positivity at COM event
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
“Movies for Mental Health,” which took place in March in College of Marin’s Fusselman Hall, was expected to draw “20 people or so,” according to Maxwell Horvitz, COM film student and leader of the campus’ new Active Minds Club chapter. But at the start time of the event, billed to involve “food, movies and discussion,” coordinators were moving dozens of desks from a nearby classroom to the lecture hall to accommodate a crowd of nearly 100.
Facilitator Leyla Eraslan, a mental health intern and artist from Art with Impact, led the audience through a series of short films and discussions focusing on depression, suicide and recovery. The films presented were winning entries in Art with Impact’s open competition, which uses filmmaking as a jumping off point for interactive mental health awareness.
One in five adults struggle with a mental illness, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Early in the talk, Eraslan asked audience members to consider if, in the context of mental illness, they ever think about how to foster “mental wellness.”
Eraslan said it’s common to hear people identify challenges to physical health as, “I feel cruddy every time I eat bread.” But obstacles to mental wellness are not commonly focused on or discussed.
Audience members as a whole were active participants, with many ready to talk openly about depression and stigma before the crowd and in small groups. A sentiment repeatedly voiced by participants was the fact that those with depression hesitate to get help, and, when they do, they often find lack of understanding and support .
Some of what participants called unhelpful advice included: “Just pray on it,” “There’s a lot to be grateful for” and “man up.”
A speaker panel that followed the films included Jared Chourre, Marin native, COM student and three-time veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
“Don’t hide this,” he told the audience as his therapy dog Triumph paced the front of the room. “Don’t carry this all yourself,” he said of the depression and PTSD that plagued him after his return from war.
Chorree said he values his military training and service, but it ingrained in him the idea that “getting help is weakness.” For a while, he said his attitude was, “F--k all you guys. I’m normal.”
Panelist Dr. Stormy Miller, director of College of Marin’s Student Accessibility Services, introduced the program, which supports students learning with a mental health diagnosis. Students without a diagnosis can get crisis support from campus Psychological Services and provisional accommodations through SAS.
A psychology major in attendance, Lily, said she anticipated an emotionally heavy afternoon, but after the event felt “excited to enter the new phase” in the mental health field. She said she was optimistic about the focus on mental wellness.
Students wishing to submit films for Art with Impact’s contest or participate in more of their programs can find information at artwithimpact.org.
