By Tom Mark

Seaton Students Talk Mental Health

Jan 31, 2018 | 12:25 PM

Today is Bell Let’s Talk Day – a day designed to encourage people to start having a conversation around mental health,

The Vernon School Board has taken up the challenge with some schools holding assemblies focussed on that.

Grade 8, 9, and 10 students at W.L. Seaton Secondary met in their gym this morning to have their own conversation.

They talked about challenges they face that can affect mental health from bullying and sickness to homework.

Several offered ideas on how to handle those challenges and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues.

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They ranged from thinking positive, to paying more attention, listen, be respectful, and accept people for who they are.

Just over one year ago, Seaton alumni raised money for a Friendship Bench, in memory of a former Seaton student that struggled with mental illness.

That bench sits just inside the main entrance of the building and encourages student-to-student conversations about mental health.

One in five Canadians will develop a mental illness.

Mental health problems tend to begin during the adolescent years of 15 to 30, and that is why it was important for these students to hear about mental illness and get the conversations started.

As the assembly students walked out, some with their arms around one another, others stopping to fill out a Bell Let’s Talk Bubble and share their ideas on how to reduce stigma around mental health.

by Tom Mark