Holidays & Observances
How Gen Z Is Erasing Mental Health Taboos Through Conversations
I was fourteen years old when I was introduced to the space of mental health advocacy. At this time, I began training to become a hotline listener at Teen Line, a peer crisis line in Los Angeles. I was fascinated by this organization that not only served youth but actively centered their engagement. After all,…
Embracing My Fluidity: The Intersection of Sexuality and Mental Health
Growing up, I always felt like an outsider. The world seemed to operate in binary terms, forcing me to choose between being straight or gay. This can be a difficult path for anyone, but it becomes even more arduous when faced with the complexities of identity and acceptance. As someone who identifies as fluid, the…
Creating a Sustainable Self-Care Routine for Students
Self-care is something that everyone talks about — but what does it actually mean, and how do you create a routine that is both effective and sustainable? As a student, self-care isn’t always easy to fit into my schedule, but it remains an important part of taking care of our mental health. As I’ve learned…
Five Ways Youth Champions Can Practice Suicide Prevention
Last year, more than 49,000 people were victims of suicide, the highest ever recorded in U.S. history. Although talking about mental health and suicide can be challenging, it is a conversation that we can’t avoid. Every year, too many young lives are impacted by mental health challenges, making suicide a significant concern. That’s where what…
How We Engaged Our Community in Suicide Prevention Through Fundraising
Content Warning: This piece contains mentions of suicide. Life for us turned upside down on Feb. 12, 2022. Our dear son Sanjeev Panja lost his life to suicide at the very tender age of 20. Sanjeev was caring, loving, funny, goofy, and an extremely motivated kid — always laughing and making others laugh. The pain…
Combatting Stigma Surrounding Asian American Mental Health Using Language
Being Asian and Filipino, it was so challenging to talk about my mental health, particularly due to the stigma in my family and community. As a college professor currently visiting the United States (but who was raised in the Philippines, a dominantly Catholic country), I observed from a young age how mental health issues, such…
Taking Up Space: A Mental Health Accommodations Guide for Students
Being a student is no joke. Between classes, activities, work, and social life, things get overwhelming fast. And if you also live with a mental health condition like anxiety, depression, or ADHD, it can feel impossible to keep up. But you’ve got this! Resources exist to support you — accommodations for students managing their mental…
Three Actions You Can Take to Support BIPOC Mental Health
Mental health awareness and access to treatment have grown immensely in the past few decades. The National Alliance on Mental Illness reported that 47.2% of U.S. adults with mental illness received treatment in 2021. Slowly but surely, actions are being taken to change the culture around mental health, but to continue we must address the…
Your Perfect Self-Care Day: Expectation vs. Reality
A peek online will expose you to a seemingly unlimited number of self-care routines, tips, and advice. But take a second look, and you’ll see a disconnection between what internet influencers portray as self-care and what a self-care day actually looks like. What does it mean to care for yourself? Is it popping a different…
How to Support the Mental Health of First-Generation Students
Isolation. No one ever told me how hard it would be to navigate my mental health as one of the many first-generation students entering college each year. I sat in my single dorm room for 48 hours after my guardian moved me in to avoid interacting with the people living on my floor. I sat…
Active Minds is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization promoting mental health awareness and education for young adults.