More TWLOHA-WU

One final post about Washburn's TWLOHA u-chapter. I just wanted to share about our final event of the year - the Love Moves 5k. This was the third year TWLOHA-WU has hosted this event and all money, aside from raffle tickets, was donated to the national organization.

We had about 25 people participate and raised over $550 for To Write Love On Her Arms to use to continue to help those struggling.

Below are some photos from the event

 Photo Credit: Hayley Harris

 Photo Credit: Paul Kirkwood

 Photo Credit: Rachel Proffitt

 Photo Credit: Murray Heikes

  Photo Credit: Murray Heikes

 Photo Credit: Murray Heikes

The Genetics Debate

There is a lot of back and forth about whether or not mental health issues can be considered hereditary. My own opinion on the matter is yes, some mental health issues have a genetic cause. But that shouldn't be considered the ONLY cause. Many other factors are at play. Usually if an issue runs in your family, it can mean that you have a greater predisposition to it, but you may not see any symptoms until something triggering happens in your life.

When I was growing up my mom never mentioned her battles with depression or her father's battle. When she finally did tell me about it she said, "I didn't want you guys to inherit my bad genes." That was hard to hear because she shouldn't have had to feel that way. I think she knows now that it's okay to talk about her struggles. But her fear of talking to my sister and I is what started to raise my awareness of the stigma around the topic.

If you are a parent, I want you to know that it is okay to talk to your kids about mental health and you shouldn't feel like you have let them down by passing on your genes. Everyone's chemical makeup is different and they are going to have their own experiences with it and the more you talk about it the less taboo it becomes for them and the younger generation as a whole.

Outreach On Campus

Finals are approaching rapidly and that can mean that increased stress levels are starting to make an appearance throughout college campuses. TWLOHA at Washburn wants to make sure everyone is still practicing self care. We were thinking of ways that we could spread that message on campus and came up with the idea to make little baggies to hand out with a variety of stress relievers in them. Things like stress balls, chocolate, positive quotes, bubbles, etc. 

We are going to be tabling in the union during success week from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. If you are a Washburn student and are in need of some self care help, please stop by! 

Here's some photos from other tabling events we have done in the past:

 Photo Credit: Rachel Proffitt

 Photo Credit: Rachel Proffitt

 Photo Credit: Monica McDougal

 Photo Credit: Rachel Proffitt

Photo Credit: Monica McDougal

Language: What To Say

I've written one blog post already about how to be a friend and one that briefly touched on being aware of what language you use, but I came across this article that kind of sums the two up very nicely. It provides some good examples of responses that would be more harmful than good and also gives some good pointers on how to better respond when someone opens up to you.

Click here to give it a read.

Positive Affirmations

I saw this video about a year ago and it's adorable, but also comes with a good message. Some days are going to be harder than others and that's okay, but if you can get yourself up and say a list of 10 positive things about your life, it's going to make those rough days a little bit easier and those good days even better. Enjoy!

An Interesting Read On Stigma

I was reading up on some mental health blogs and came across this post that discusses the stigma associated with mental health on the professional level. She talks about how even doctors can suffer from "mental health stigma" and her experiences dealing with that along her journey.

I can relate with her a bit. When I first went to talk to a doctor, it did not go well and he made me feel ashamed and even like I was lying. It turned me away from seeking any other kind of professional help for at least a year.

I think this is a good example of how much more work we can do to try and decrease that stigma.

Check out the blog post here

It's The Little Things

I was walking on campus the other day and someone gave me a compliment on my hair. I had no clue who the person was, but it still put a smile on my face and drastically improved my mood. Even though I change my hair up quite a bit, I still get anxious about what other people will think of it so when I get compliments like that, it makes me a bit more confident as well.

At a TWLOHA meeting recently, we challenged the group to give a compliment to someone on campus throughout the week. The message in this is that you never know what another person is going through and giving out that compliment could make their day.

We also tried to make a point that it doesn't have to be about physical appearance. Maybe you had a class with them and you really agreed with something they said or maybe you notice that they have a band logo on their laptop and you want to tell them they have great taste in music. Even just pointing out how nice the weather is one day can cause them to notice the sunshine more so than usual.

So I challenge you to be more aware of people you walk by on campus or at work and hand out some compliments!

A classmate of mine is making a Random Act Of Kindness Week and I think it's a great idea. If you're interested in checking that out click here!