Content Warning: This story contains mentions of eating disorders.
NU Active Minds, a mental health advocacy group on campus, held its annual stigma panel event Thursday to provide support and resources for Northwestern students.
The University measures the positive mental health of its students using The Flourishing Scale, a short survey that summarizes the respondent’s self-perceived success in different areas of their life. Taking in data on self-esteem, relationships, optimism and purpose, they reported six out of ten (61.2%) NU undergraduates are struggling.
Weinberg freshman Ella Leppert, who attended the event, noted that while mental health resources are often advertised and accessible to students, a gap remains between awareness and action.
“The initial steps of support are there and very open on campus, but going further is not always achieved,” Leppert said.
Weinberg senior and panelist AnaBel Dawson shared her experience with Counseling and Psychological Services and her medical leave of absence during her sophomore year.
She explained that the University supported her during her time away from school while battling anorexia, ensuring she received treatment and therapy for at least one quarter before returning to campus.
“Recovery is not perfect; it’s not linear,” Dawson told The Daily after the panel. “It’s messy and frustrating and ongoing for me.”
Dawson added that speaking on the panel was her way of sharing her journey to help others. Realizing how prevalent mental health issues were on a college campus, she said she was motivated to speak.
NU helped “kick start” her journey into treatment and therapy, she said, and she continues to attend weekly therapy meetings and nutritionist appointments through the University.
Dawson says certain language can normalize mental health struggles on campus, disencouraging students from reaching out for help.
Another panelist who received support from CAPS, Weinberg freshman Megan Freemon, emphasized that mental health is something “you spend your whole life getting comfortable with.”
Freemon said that the event provided a space for open discussion, during which she shared that a combination of medicine and therapy works best for her. She added there isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” approach to mental health.
Discussing the importance of addressing mental health head-on, Freemon explained that she started her Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder therapy when she got to campus.
After making an appointment with CAPS, Freemon was connected to other resources that could better support her specific needs. While she didn’t use CAPS directly, she said they helped her with insurance and checked in on her throughout the process to ensure she was comfortable.
“It’s okay to be affected by things,” Freemon told The Daily after the panel. “It’s okay not only to recognize difficulties that you’re facing, but it’s okay to not be at your best.”
Freemon noted that while students often understand how mental health can affect them, it can be difficult for them to take action and move forward once the conversation begins.
Freemon describes herself as “a work in progress,” admitting that while she was nervous to speak at the panel, something else motivated her more.
Reflecting on her personal journey, Freemon shared that much of her struggle stemmed from needing more information and wanting to hear and relate to other people’s stories.
“It was scary to talk about, but I knew that I wanted to do it,” Freemon told The Daily after the panel.
Similarly, Medill senior and former Daily staffer Evelyn Driscoll, co-president of Active Minds, said knowing more about mental health — such as terminology and self-awareness — was the support she needed.
As a leader in Active Minds, Driscoll said it can feel isolating when you don’t have the resources you need, but she hopes attendees understand they’re not alone.
“Maintain that hope because you will get through it, and you will get help, and you will feel better,” Driscoll told The Daily after the panel.
The organization has weekly meetings to discuss different mental health topics and offer resources not only for students who are struggling, but also students who want to be proactive in their mental health journeys.
Email: luluyatekle2028@u.northwestern.edu
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