Mental Health

The issue of mental health has appeared in many unexpected aspects of life recently. Let me give you an example from last week. On Thursday morning, I attended my Intro to State and Local Politics class. We talked about how Creigh Deeds' son took his life and how the state managed mental health resources. Then, on Friday, I was at a story meeting for the newspaper that I work at (the Connection) and we talked about articles that had to do with mental health. On Saturday I caucused for delegate Patrick Hope's congressional campaign. Patrick counts mental health, along with disabilities and housing, as one of his top legislative priorities.

In fact, a friend of mine at UVA is part of a group called Legislators of Tomorrow that brings together college-aged Republicans and Democrats to craft bipartisan legislation. The piece of legislation that they crafted requires state institutions of higher education to dedicate one webpage on their website to mental health resources that the school provides. Furthermore, the bill requires the governing board of each school to educate its faculty and students on how to spot signs of depression, anxiety, and self-destructive behavior. I wrote an article about it in the Arlington Connection that you can find right here.

A grassroots movement to educate citizens on the importance of mental health started when Kevin Breel gave an amazing TedTalk on his battle with depression. Since then he has spoken at numerous schools across the country and partnered with organizations such as To Write Love on Her Arms. In my opinion, every high school and private college as well should dedicate time and resources to educating its students on the importance of mental health. Breel wisely pointed out that we openly treat and express remorse for people with physical impairments, such as a broken arm, while we stigmatize and keep silent mental impairments, such as an anxiety disorder. Perhaps putting the issue of mental health in the classroom will help reduce this stigma.

When we discussed the political component of mental health in my State and Local Politics class I only heard positive feedback. People criticized how Virginia is doing a poor job of advancing this cause. For example, the Virginia mental health apparatus could not find an available bed for Creigh Deed's son. This led to his tragic and violent outbreak. How can the government improve their performance and execution on this issue? Is it better to leave the issue of mental health to the private sector and NGOs? Can private universities adopt the same policies that Legislators of Tomorrow proposed? How do other countries deal with this issue? These are all questions that need to be asked.

In the meantime I'll keep trying to find article ideas for mental health, discuss it in the classroom, and work for Patrick's campaign. I hope that everyone can find an outlet to promote this important issue.