Managing Stress in the Everyday
November 3, 2021 — There are times when the unknown can be exciting: a new job, a surprise birthday party, the first day of classes. However, there are also times when the unknown can be unsettling, leading to increased stress levels and unwelcome emotions. Throughout the past year and a half, uncertainty has become even more prevalent because of […]
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Lessons I Learned from Sharing Stories with Send Silence Packing
November 1, 2021 — Content Warning: This piece contains mentions of suicide. For the past two months, I’ve been traveling across the country to host Send Silence Packing, Active Mind’s award-winning suicide prevention display. When I began, I knew this position would be just as impactful as when Send Silence Packing came to my college and touched me as […]
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Mental Health Doesn’t Have to be Scary: Finding Resources and Building Community
October 31, 2021 — Every Halloween, we’re reminded that, sometimes, it can be fun to be a little scared: from haunted houses, to horror movies, to spooky costumes, it’s part of the excitement. But, there are also times we try to avoid feeling scared, or stressed, or unsure. For many, one of those instances is when it comes to […]
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Twenty Years of Difficulties and Differences Contextualized: How My ADHD Diagnosis Changed How I Live
October 26, 2021 — College is everything they tell you it will be: challenging, freeing, exhausting, exhilarating, and so much more. It tests you at every corner, never giving you a break before a new challenge meets you at the next turn. Of course, I was prepared for the start of my first semester. How could I not be? […]
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Depression Screening Was the First Step to My Fresh Start
October 18, 2021 — It was not until my freshman year of college, in the fall of 2019, that I realized I might be suffering from depression. I was sad for no reason. Still tired after getting a good night’s rest. Something felt off. But, to those around me, I was still functioning “normally.” I was able to go […]
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Decolonizing Mental Health During Hispanic Heritage Month and Beyond
October 14, 2021 — As a young woman who comes from a Hispanic family and has seen first-hand how much culture and identity can impact access to mental health education and resources, I knew that when I was given the opportunity to do mental health research as an Active Minds Emerging Scholar I was going to take it. Stemming […]
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Growing Up with Undiagnosed OCD: How My Diagnosis Changed My Perspective
October 12, 2021 — Content Warning: This piece contains mentions of suicide and suicidal ideation. I want to start by telling you about the bane of my existence in elementary school: card changes. Each day all the cards started on green, but if you did something wrong, the teacher would give you a card change. This meant you had […]
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Mental Health Equity is Health Equity
October 8, 2021 — When it comes to mental health, it’s easy to see that not everyone has access to the same resources or help when they need it. From a lack of affordable therapy, to cultural stigmas, to unequal access to mental health education, the disparities are apparent. The goal that this access should be equal is known […]
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Welcome Active Minds Fall 2021 Interns
October 1, 2021 — Welcome to our awesome group of fall 2021 interns! We’re so excited to work with them to change the conversation around mental health. Hannah Whitfield 1. Where do you (or did you) go to school? What do you study? I graduated from the University of St Andrews this summer with an undergraduate degree in […]
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Self-Care: What Is It and How Do I Do It? Making Self-Care Personal and Intentional
September 28, 2021 — Throughout the past year and a half, self-care has been a topic of discussion everywhere: from social media to college campuses to major media outlets. The pandemic has forced us to slow down, and during that time, many have discovered how beneficial daily acts of self-care can be. Now that many are transitioning to returning […]
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