By Kyle Kern Staff writer
On April 3, there was a discussion sponsored by the Counseling Center that dealt with the vocalization of the truth about mental health. Stacey Pearson- Wharton, assistant dean and director for counseling services, helped host the event. The guest speaker, Lauren Cook, who has given over 100 keynotes to over 50,000 people, also welcomed the crowd of around 40 students, staff and faculty.
Pearson-Wharton welcomed Cook to the floor, while mentioning that she had written a book called “Sunny Side Up.” Cook has worked for NBC, Disney ABC and E! News during her career, which has followed her graduation from the University of California, Los Angeles and graduate studies at University of Southern California. She is currently working on her doctorate in clinical psychology at Pepperdine while also working at La Vie Counseling Center in Pasadena, California.
Cook started the talk by saying that she believes the nation is getting more comfortable with discussing mental health, but there is room for improvement.
She said that we are not always going to be happy, because happiness is only one small part of the emotional pie, so we have to get comfortable with our other emotions. Cook coined this as the “journey within self.”
Upon that statement, Cook told the audience that she attended therapy sessions to understand how the client feels in a situation. In these sessions, she discovered that she was like a vase, hollow and always putting on a nice display. Instead, she needed to be more like a bouncy ball, something that can recover from a fall and get back up, unlike a vase that would break if dropped. Focusing more on college students, Cook gave statistics about college students and mental health.
She said that one in four students are dealing with a mental disorder. Cook added that these cases are under-reported because of the stigma of weakness from admitting that one has a mental disorder.
It was also discussed how students of color are more likely to not seek help on mental health and the LGBTQ+ community is three times more likely to experience anxiety or depression.
Cook said according to statistics, every two hours we lose one person between the ages of 15 and 24 to suicide.
In explaining the pressures of life and college upon the suicide topic, Cook said, “It’s okay to be okay.” She referred to the stigma of weakness that is associated with mental health, but argued that your health relies on you to seek help and admit that you need it.
In this case, Cook stressed the need to be your own person and try to stay in charge.
Cook then explained the steps to understanding and supporting those with mental disorders. She said knowing or letting someone know that you care and are willing to listen is an important first step.
Second, the person needs to understand that they need help and are willing to receive the help. The last step is to become aware of the mental health issues and the varying symptoms of each disorder that appear in people.
Suicide was then brought up again in order to discuss how to make sure the other person knows you are there for them.
According to Cook, if loss of interest in personal appearance or personal possessions or talk of suicide is present, then it is time to mention the topic with the person. In order to help, Cook told students to be very open but also to not act shocked or judgmental.
Following the discussion on suicide, the talk turned to where you can find help. Cook suggested local mental health institutions or campus counseling centers, but she told the audience to keep in mind that the journey will not have easy answers and will require one to discover things for themselves with the support of the community and therapist.
On top of going to see a therapist, something Cook advised students to do is to perform self-care. Self-care is where an individual takes care of themselves and practices de-stressing and peaceful things to take their mind off stress, panic and long assignments.
Lastly, Cook presented the idea that “you are enough” even if you don’t believe so.
The Counseling Center is free for all students, and walk-in appointments are accepted between Monday and Friday.
