Being human means so many things. We should admit that we’re a pretty privileged species to be gifted with cognitive abilities that allow us to do incredible things. However, alongside with that intelligence also comes an immense complexity of thoughts and emotions that can be overwhelming for us to process and understand. This brings forward a demand for us to look after our mental health, but do we?

Statistics report that globally, more than 70 % of the people suffering from mental illness do not receive any treatment from mental health care staff. First of all, this is associated first of all with a lack of knowledge about mental health and on how to access help, but also with the prejudice against people who have mental health problems.

Think about how often in a day you hear the question “how are you”. It has become just a standardized question to ask when you greet people. You never expect an answer that deviates from “I’m fine” and you probably always force a smile on your face and admit you’re fine. I also hear this inner voice in the back of my head reminding me “look, everybody else seems to be great, so pull yourself together and don’t submit to your weakness.” Wanting to come across strong and confident is natural, our human species evolved because at some point in evolution, we were the strongest. However, what I see many people struggling with today, is the fear of being defeated by themselves and their own emotions.

Yesterday, the two third year students Lea and Eden launched another event as part of the Shame Project. Lea started the Shame Project last year, initially as her ‘free form’, which is an initiative of UCG which allows students to design their own academic projects and earn credits for that in the third block of the second year. The idea behind the project is the de-stigmatization of mental health issues. The essence of the project is addressing and overcoming shame. Lea, Eden and Maja firmly believe that this can be done through openness, discussion and empathy, thus, there events focus on providing a safe platform for people to share their personal stories.

During yesterday’s event ‘INSPIRE’, a few speakers bravely volunteered to convey their personal stories centred around mental health. After listening to other people’s experiences, we were given the space to discuss and share our own thoughts. Some speakers presented beautifully written stories embedding elements of poetry, even though the message that they convey is less beautiful but merely the blunt and in fact naked reflections of pain and inner struggles. One of my fellow students opened the event by reflecting on the experience of approaching the university counselor and bumping into a familiar face. The first sentiment he felt? Shame. And that is where it begins: Feeling ashamed of seeking help, not wanting to admit that we cannot always rely on ourselves to overcome our problems. The very first step though, is to identify “I’m not fine and it’s okay not to be okay.”

Also one of the events from last year still sticks with me. The concept though was a little different as people who would like to share something were encouraged to write a piece of their very own and submit it anonymously. During the event, these pieces were read out by a volunteer and the audience could take an active role in commenting and reflecting upon it. The person who wrote them could then decide whether they wanted to reveal their identity or remain anonymous. Some of the stories I listened to were deep personal reflections on past experiences, tragic or even traumatizing events but some people also used the tools of poetry to express and access sentiments and emotions that many of us can even relate to. Eventually, sessions like these remind you, you’re not alone with how you feel.

Finally, the project is also aimed at encouraging people to show compassion and to also signal to friends that one is always there to listen and talk. Often, we are discouraged from sharing that we are struggling because we don’t want to burden those around us. We don’t want them to have to deal with our issues, they probably have enough stuff going on in their own lifes. But if we start being more sensitive to those around us, we will recognize things about our friends’ behaviors that we maybe often wish others would also recognize about us.

Sessions like these really show us how grateful we can be to have such a close knit community at UCG with a pre-established foundation of trust that enables such manners of exchange. Also, once again, Civitas collaborated with the facilitators, selling drinks and food in order to raise funds that will then be donated towards the organization ‘Mental Health Europe’ which also works towards the objective of destigmatizing mental health problems.

I hope I was able to amplify Eden’s, Lea’s and Maja’s message, the girls will be continuing with few more events this year: ‘Empower’, ‘Listen’ and ‘Empathize’, so you will definitely be hearing more of the Shame Project!

Greetings,

Eva