Creating connections and smashing stigmas: Dalhousie’s Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 set to begin

Being a student, particularly in our society’s current climate, comes with considerable strain to mental health. Student Health & Wellness offers a variety of resources to assist the Dalhousie community in maintaining mental well-being, but further advocacy and awareness efforts are always needed.

That’s why the university created Mental Health Awareness Week, an annual campus-wide campaign that aims to promote ways to maintain good mental health from a perspective of holistic well-being, address the stigma around experiencing a decline in mental health or being diagnosed with a mental illness, and, most importantly, create a sense of belonging and a connection to campus for students.

The week-long campaign, now in its second year, engages the Dalhousie community in events, activities, and conversations that provide opportunities for improving emotional and spiritual well-being, discussing life’s challenges, and building long-lasting social connections.

“I am looking forward to this year's Mental Health Awareness Week as a platform and opportunity for students, staff and faculty to acknowledge all of the ups and downs we have experienced with our mental health due to the unknowns in our lives over the past two years and have open conversations about mental health in the many programs, workshops and events that are planned,” says Jonnie-Lyn Baron, a student health promotion manager with the Student Health & Wellness Centre.

Daily themes

This year’s campaign — happening March 12-19 — will take a hybrid approach, offering events in-person as well as virtually. The planning committee, made up of a variety of students, societies, and campus professionals, has been working hard to present the Dal community with a week full of exciting events, workshops, and activities. Each day will have a theme:

Monday - Sleep
Tuesday – Substance Use
Wednesday - Sense of Belonging/Community
Thursday – Nourishing Yourself
Friday - Self-Care
Saturday - Movement

Events and daily prizes coincide with each themed day of the week. Students who attend events will have the opportunity to be entered to win such prizes as grocery store and Cleve’s Source for Sports gift cards, a weighted blanket and a food box from the DSU Market, to name a few.

There is no shortage of events this week, and there is something for everyone. Events include cooking classes, wellness walks, yoga and meditation, sleep workshops, silent discos and so much more! For a full list of events and their details, visit the Mental Health Awareness Week website.

"There have been many people who have put a lot of thought, time and effort into the various offerings for MHAW 2022,” says Baron. “I am so thankful to the community of students, staff and faculty willing to collaborate together to address this important topic.”

Mental Health Awareness Week is brought to you by Dalhousie Student Health & Wellness, Student Experience, Together@Dal, Dal After Dark, Dalhousie Association of Graduate Students, Dalhousie Medical Campus Response Team and many other student societies with a vested interest in mental health at Dalhousie.