The month of May marks the beginning of Mental Health Awareness Month, a time that sheds light on the importance of mental health and encourages people who might be struggling to reach out for support. This year, Jesuit High School Sacramento is working hard to spread awareness and help their students.

Mental health refers to one’s emotional and social well-being that guides his or her feelings and ability to cope with all the stressors in life. For Marriage and Family Therapy Trainee Ms. Abby Hollandsworth, raising awareness for mental health includes providing students with an opportunity to express their emotions and start the journey toward healing. 

“To me, mental health advocacy is about creating a nonjudgmental space where people can heal and grow, and standing alongside them as they do so,” Ms. Hollandsworth said. “Mental health advocacy is also about letting people find their own voice and amplifying it.”

When raising awareness for mental health, it’s important to spread the word about seeking help to as many people as possible so everyone who needs help can get it. Theology teacher Ms. Gabriella Carroll shares a few ways in which Jesuit students can get help. 

“One straightforward way is simply talking about it: sharing personal stories, owning that individuals in our community struggle with mental health, and normalizing these struggles,” Ms. Carroll said. “The Wellness Center on campus, staffed by Ms. [Kasey] Cardinale and Ms. Hollandsworth, is a wonderful resource on campus for students. I also want students to know that they can talk to any trusted adult on campus–whether a counselor, teacher, or staff member–for a listening ear, help, or support.”

In addition to encouraging students to reach out, Ms. Carroll and the rest of Jesuit are doing everything they can to break the stigma associated with mental health and reduce the shameful feelings that come with the idea of sharing how you truly feel. 

“I think there is a stigma that ‘asking for help’ means you are ‘weak,’” Ms. Carroll said. “I want to spread the message that this is not the case, that asking for help actually makes you strong. I also want students to know that they are not alone; adults, including myself, struggle as well. And that things will, and do, get better.”

President of TeamCARE Dylan McMains ’23 echoes Ms. Carroll’s desire to eradicate mental health stigmas and hopes that his work in TeamCARE creates reminders and encourages conversations.  

“One of our big goals is destigmatizing, and I think that we can do that through daily conversation and making others feel safe and reaching out for help,” Dylan said. “Also just talking on a day-to-day basis; that really starts on a personal level, but I think that as a school, we could continue to keep up those reminders because it’s something that might slip by if we don’t focus on it.”

For anyone who is struggling mentally, know that there are numerous resources to help, two of which are the mental health hotline number 988 and the Wellness Center next to the King Library. Ms. Hollandsworth shares additional advice for people who are struggling.

“To anyone who is struggling with their mental health, I say that you do not have to go through this alone and that there is always hope,” Ms. Hollandsworth said. “Lean on your supports: friends, family, trusted teachers and coaches, counselors. Counselors work in conjunction with the Wellness Program and can assist with referrals to Wellness on campus or a provider in the community.”

Dylan believes that the solution lies in getting help and wants to remind everyone struggling with mental health that it’s okay to not be okay.

“Really lean on the people who have been through what you’ve been through before, or people who have the resources so they can pour out to you what they have,” Dylan said. “Be vulnerable, reach out, and just know that it’s okay if you’re not okay. I do believe that there is a ton of work that can be done when you acknowledge that and you say ‘Okay, I’m here and this is where I am, and this is what can be done going forward.’”