WHAT’s Your Monkey schools on mental health

By Katy Atherholt, November 20 2014 —

On Wednesday, Nov. 12, the Wellness and Health Awareness Team (WHAT) held an outreach carnival in MacHall called WHAT’s Your Monkey (WYM).

The event followed the Meet Your Monkey (MYM) student mental-health summit held in October and showcased mental-health resources available on campus. WHAT used feedback from students who attended MYM to plan the carnival.

The Distress Centre on Campus, the Mental Health Awareness Club and the peer support team from the Women’s Resource Centre had booths at WYM. Each displayed information about how the organizations assist students dealing with mental-health issues.

According to WHAT coordinator Ashley Huminick, they wanted to provide quick stress relief and raise awareness about the importance of sound mental health. She said accessing help early is important.

“We all go through ups and downs. It’s important to keep ourselves on the positive side of the spectrum by doing things like this,” Huminick said. “Taking a break, connecting with friends and making sure we get the support we need before things become a little more serious.”

The carnival had eight different stations with activities like tea-making, giant jenga and mental-health jeopardy. Student volunteers staffed each station.

One station focused on language used when discussing mental health. It emphasized the separation of individual personality traits from mental health issues. All of the stations were stocked with reading material that fit the theme of mental-health. Booth workers gave out pamphlets and swag for students to share.