Mental health, for a considerable amount of people, still remains one of those topics that’s a little “iffy” to talk about. However, there are countless individuals who have taken the torch and started significant and lasting conversations about mental health with large audiences, aimed to make concrete changes in the way we think and act on mental health. Though there are many people on campus and off which prove as remarkable examples, one in particular is making her voice louder than ever. Ji Youn Kim is a former UBC student who dropped out this past year and who has dedicated her time to mental health activism on university campuses.
This is her story:
I am a UBC dropout. The incompatibility of the current education system and my mental health forced me to leave school. I wrote a blog post about this back in April and it went viral on social media. In September, the Daily Hive interviewed me and wrote an article on why mental health matters in academia. It reached over 5000 people. Just two weeks ago, I published the Facebook page of my new mental health advocacy movement called The Tipping Point, and the page received over 1000 likes in the first 4 days.
Through sharing my story in the past 6 months, I have learned an incredibly valuable lesson. Vulnerability is powerful. The vulnerability of one person’s experience can lead to incredible things.
In the last two years, I learned to understand shame. I dropped out of school, attempted suicide five times, moved back home to my parents’ house, and either quit or was fired from jobs. Shame associated with mental illness is exacerbated by the stigmas that still exist today. Shame paralyzes us and further further isolates folks with mental health struggles by preventing us from reaching out. As if mental illness wasn’t hard enough.
But recently, I’ve learned that community does exist. Not just amongst the mental health advocates or student leaders, but amongst everyday people. 30 former UBC students, who have been forced out of the education system due to mental health, have reached out to me thus far after coming across my story. On Facebook, I now have a supportive mental health community. When I’m having a bad mental health day, people send me words of love and positivity. When I’m celebrating my mental health progress, people send me encouragement.
We must talk about mental health in academia. We must talk about the depths of mental health struggles including panic attacks, suicide and trauma. Pet visits and free tea are great for self-care, but we must also think of long-term solutions of the mental health struggles of students. And this starts with fighting shame with vulnerability. As someone who has hit rock bottom, several times, I aim to create a shame-free, vulnerable community of students talking about mental health in academia. Please reach out, you are not alone. We are a community.
Ji Youn Kim founded The Tipping Point, which you can find on facebook. If you would like to learn more or get involved with her initiative, message her through The Tipping Point page or directly on her facebook messenger.
Written by Emma Gibson
Source:
https://www.facebook.com/thetippingpointmovement/