From Jan. 15 to 21, the 2018 Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) featured a variety of events to spark discourse on mental health and strategies for improving it. Student organizers led workshops and panels on topics ranging from sleep habits, managing mental health while[Read More…]
Tag: mental health
Online hate-blocking app protects users’ mental health
Triggering language—including terms that provoke traumatic memories or harmful thoughts—endangers the mental well-being of people with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety. While it is impossible to fully avoid upsetting words in day-to-day life, trigger-free spaces are crucial for providing solace and protecting mental health. However, as[Read More…]
Swipe right—for the right reasons
I recently re-downloaded the dating app Tinder. I was working on a difficult essay and, frustrated by my lack of success, found myself reactivating an old profile and swiping furiously. This was not the first time this had happened. When school becomes stressful and the pressures of McGill begin to[Read More…]
Say ‘no’ to the nocebo
It’s that time of year again, when mental health initiatives are becoming more active. With finals looming ahead, it may seem like the pervading mood on campus is generally negative. However, it’s important that we question whether these initiatives themselves are responsible for subconsciously swaying our mood this way. The[Read More…]
The link between gut health and mental health
University life can pose a challenge to maintaining healthy eating habits. From sugar-filled bars grabbed swiftly on the way out the door in the morning, to late-night cups of Tim Horton’s, the rigors of academia do little for the average student’s physical health. But stress-eating processed candy and grabbing rushed[Read More…]
Horticultural Therapy
Student mental health needs admin support, not “hygiene de vie”
In an Nov. 21 interview with the McGill Reporter, Ollivier Dyens, Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning), shut down the possibility of a Fall reading week in the foreseeable future, despite 71.5 per cent of students declaring support for the break in an April 2015 Enrolment Services survey. In the[Read More…]
How students can help others dealing with suicidal ideation
Vent over Tea, a free active listening service at McGill, hosted a Suicide Crisis Intervention workshop at the Aldred Building on Nov. 12. Fourth-year Neuroscience PhD candidate Daniel Almeida led the workshop. He reviewed how to intervene in cases of suicidal ideation as a peer supporter, and identified risk factors and[Read More…]
In conversation with Rich Clune
The hockey vet speaks about mental health in hockey and university
Early alert systems: The gap between conception and effects
As with any university, McGill has many students who want to do well and make a positive impression on those around them, especially their professors. The impression most students do not want to make is the kind that causes concern rather than admiration, and one that could culminate in a[Read More…]