Two stories about college students who are openly talking about mentally illnesses to educate their fellow students and others about mental illness. Bravo!In the picture from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Michael Mannarino discusses an informational packet about upcoming events planned by the Active Minds program he helped develop at Marquette University with Kristy Nielson, associate professor of psychology.
Mannarino, who has been diagnosed with bipolar and obsessive compulsive disorders, said he used to keep his mental health battles private. "I had lived with bipolar kind of alone. No one knew that I had it," he said.
But after receiving treatment after a suicide attempt, he decided he wanted to help others. So he brought Active Minds to Marquette University. It is a national, student-run group that tries to de-stigmatize mental illness among college students by promoting open discussion.
"With more than 100 college chapters, Active Minds is often led by young adults, such as Mannarino, who are living with mental illness," The Journal Sentinel writes. "The idea is to empower students to treat their mental illness before it reaches a tragic stage."
In Texas, the San Antonio Express-News tells the story of Kristina Rhodes, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was 16, struggled for several years, but now is graduating with honors from Trinity University.
The Express-News used Rhodes story to explain the growing prevalence of college students with mental illnesses: "College campuses in recent years have seen an influx of students with serious mental illness, a reflection of the relatively recent trend in earlier detection of mental disorders in children and adolescents and the improvement in psychotropic drugs, such as antidepressants and mood stabilizers, that enable such youth to complete high school and go on to pursue secondary education."
