Active Minds

Cynthia Delva from Active Minds at Montclair State says:

Nothing hurts more when someone you care about is suffering. You feel helpless. The topic of mental health is no stranger to me. Mental illness is something that I have been dealing with my whole life.  It runs in my family.  My great aunt suffered from it, and it was unfortunately passed down to my mother. I watched her struggle with her illness. She was healed many times only to relapse back to her initial state. The only way to describe it is that she became someone I didn't recognize. The loving and caring person I once knew was no longer there. It seems as if she was only present in physical form. Her mental self on the hand, was absent and distant. Miraculously she made a full recovery, but it took almost twelve years since her last relapse. During that time, we thought that she was never going back to her initial state. It's the most painful thing to see your mother suffering, and not be able to do anything about it. All we could do was watch. Deep down I know she was asking for help, but there was nothing me and my sibling could do about it. This is how complex it can be. In addition, it also has the potential to be equally confusing and painful.

In my opinion, my mother made a full recovery when compared to her previous condition. For me, her recovery was actually a testament to the fact that mental illness is an illness, and like most illnesses, it is capable of being cured or managed with medicine. As biology major I have learned that it is a chemical imbalance that is behind the symptoms.  I can say that after witnessing the ins and outs of this illness through my mother, optimism and hope is what I have toward mental illness. This is part of the reason why Active Minds caught my interest at Montclair State University. I actually learned more about it through Montclair's Counseling and Psychological services. I got involved as the Vice President of Active Minds. At the time, our executive board was the only members we had.  I took the president position the following semester.

It was a challenge to be President of Active Minds. First I had to recruit executive members who were as passionate as I. Then, board members and I had to figure out how to get the word out about this organization. It was relatively new to the campus at the time, so people weren't interested. I knew that in order for us to make this happen, we had to recruit dedicated and loyal board members. Afterwards, we watch our group grow in confident numbers.  We made it tolerable to discuss mental illness on our campus without the stigma that is usually associated with it.  By doing workshops that covered a variety of mental illnesses, I was able to see that more people are dealing with mental illness symptoms than I presumed. Stress, depression and anxiety are major factors in some of our lives.  Learning about different stress management methods when dealing with these factors, is very important. This is where Active Minds comes in.

Our job is to educate people about mental illness. Personally, Active Minds has given me the opportunity to meet people who care about this cause as much as I do. As a leader of such an incredible organization I have learned so much about people. It has also encouraged me to be more determined in my curiosity to learn about mental illness. I feel proud to be part of this organization. I believe that being part of this organization will help us accept mental illness for what it is. Therefore, offering the opportunity to treat mental illness more efficiently. This way people with the illness such as my mother won't have to go through it.

For those who are affected by mental illness it is important that they know they are not alone. It is also important they know that they have support. If have you are suffering from depression or any other mental illness, don't be afraid to get help. You shouldn't feel ashamed. The biggest problem is the stigma that comes with having mental issues.  People with mental illness are viewed as subhuman when, in fact, going through something like depression is the most human thing. There are many people out there like you. Life is not easy and everyone struggles. If anyone in your life is mentally ill continue to support them as much as you can.