Unspoken Stigmas: Efforts to Start and Sustain Tough Conversations

Mental health dialogue often begins after tragedy, for instance,  the death of Robin Williams sparked debate and conversation on depression and suicide. Despite differences in opinion on how to properly address these issues, the one thing everyone seemed to agree on was that it was too late to help Robin Williams. Often, people find out about the mental health struggles of a family member or friend only after tragedies like this, when it’s too late. Often, people aren’t comfortable sharing their battle with mental illness because of the stigma attached to it – but if we were able to erase some of that stigma, perhaps more people would reach out for help when they need it, before it’s too late.

Mental health isn’t the only issue that is hard to talk about – things like sexual assault and racism can be uncomfortable to bring up in the classroom or casual conversation – but that does not mean we have the right to ignore these issues.

Events like It Happens Here provide space on Middlebury’s campus for people to share personal stories on issues that may not be talked about otherwise. It Happens Here has proved to be very successful in promoting sexual assault awareness on campus: in the three-day following last Monday’s event and the It Happens Here website received over 1000 distinct visitors who spent an average of 10 minutes on the site, according to It Happens Here organizer Kate Preston ’17.

“You can hear counselors or administrators talk about mental health or sexual violence all day … but you don’t often get to hear the voice of the person who’s going through that struggle,” said Maddie Orcutt ’16, another organizer of It Happens Here. “I think that’s really important. We’re raising awareness of these issues, but we’re also getting as close to the source as we possibly can.”

In recent months, students have begun to share stories of their struggles with mental health online and through forums like Wordpress and Facebook. These personal stories shared through It Happens Here have raised dialogue in the Middlebury community and inspired others to come forward and share their stories.

“It’s a huge thing for someone to come out and say I’m struggling with sexual assault or I’m struggling with mental health issues … it takes a lot of courage,” Orcutt said.

More dialogue around mental health is being raised. Emma Erwin ’15.5 recently founded a project called Resilience, a website that asks students, “What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done?” The mission of this initiative is to “share our stories, support each other in our struggles, and commend one another’s strengths.”

Erwin’s initiative provides a constructive way to combat the loneliness and stigma associated with mental health and other struggles we are often confronted with. Like It Happens Here, Emma’s project will bolster efforts to start and sustain the tough conversations.

“It Happens Here and Emma’s project can be demonstrative of the general culture shift of trying to bring awareness to topics that are often ignored,” It Happens Here organizer Michelle Peng ’15 concluded.

By framing these conversations as empowering, students have been able to make issues like sexual assault and mental health more prevalent in the minds of those at Middlebury. Sharing these stories not only increases awareness of these issues but also makes those suffering feel supported and included in the community. The loneliness of sexual assault and mental illness is, for some, the most debilitating part. In being willing to share these struggles with others at Middlebury, we allow ourselves to come together as a strong, supportive and compassionate community, as shown by the recently-founded and well-attend sexual assault survivor support group hosted by WomenSafe (Fridays 3-4:15 PM; email middstudentsupport@aol.com for location).

“Much of life is beautiful and joyous, but there are some pretty big parts that can be horribly dark, scary, hopeless and completely terrifying—especially when its something that you feel like you can’t talk about, and you seem to be all alone,” Erwin said. “But you don’t have to be. Let’s shine some light in those dark places.“