Month: October 2020

Welcome to the start of Mental Health Month 2020! We’re excited to provide you with many virtual events for the month of November to promote health and wellbeing and reduce the stigma behind mental illness and neurodiversity! Please join us for our week one events listed below! Click on the PDF for links to Zoom talks and event registration.

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Mental Health Month Keynote Address by Cameron Stout, ’80 | Thursday, November 5th at 4pm

This November, the Princeton University Graduate Student Government is hosting a fully virtual Mental Health Awareness Month to help destigmatize neurodiversity and mental illness in our campus community and to share stories and resources from our campus. We invite you to attend our upcoming Keynote address, “Light Heart, Focused Mind: Mental Wellness and Self-Care during the Pandemic” to be held on Thursday, November 5th at 4pm. Please register here to receive a Zoom link.
About the speaker: 

Cameron Stout graduated from Princeton in 1980. He majored in American History, played on the varsity tennis team, and went on to a successful career as a securities litigator and mediator in San Francisco. Cam is also an alcoholic, and the survivor of two major depressive episodes. Therapies including medication, the love of family and friends, and diligent self-care, helped Cam fight his way out of the abyss of clinical depression and alcoholism.

For the last six years, Cam has worked as a mental health advocate and public speaker, sharing his story of resilience, recovery, and hope, and offering his insights on self-care strategies and mindsets. In addition to addressing folks in various professions, Cam has given talks to students and faculty at a number of universities and high schools around the country.

Cam moved back to Princeton from Palo Alto, CA in 2019 when his wife, Laura Docter, accepted a position teaching at the Hun School. His mental wellness advocacy is supported in part by his non-profit, Stout Heart, Inc. (www.stoutheart.org).

Link to registration: https://princeton.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUvceihqDsqHt1Jwi7HYsaK5L0dkV3Sure4

Stay tuned for information on Mental Health Month by checking our website  and following the Graduate Student Government Facebook Page! For more information please email graduatementalhealth@gmail.com.

This November, the GSG is hosting a fully virtual Mental Health Awareness Month to help destigmatize neurodiversity and mental illness in our campus community and to share stories and resources from our campus. To open up the conversation, we invite you to sign up for/contribute to the three initiatives listed below. Stay tuned for information on Mental Health Month by checking our website  and following the Graduate Student Government Facebook Page! For more information please email graduatementalhealth@gmail.com. 

I. Unique Minds: Voices Through Art and Text | Online Art Exhibition

We are accepting submissions for an online exhibition of art, poetry and essays addressing the question, What does mental health mean to you? Please submit your artwork via our google form here by October 26th. Submissions will be posted online at https://mentalhealth.princeton.edu and published in a printed catalogue. 

Link to google form: https://forms.gle/i8hHeFbL7CLxeocv6

II. Shedding Light on Neurodiversity: Mental Health Awareness Book Club

Are you interested in engaging with mental health related literature with others on campus? 

Sign up here to join our Mental Health Awareness Book Club and indicate which books you would be interested in reading with us! We have a rich and diverse collection of books listed that explore ideas of mental health in higher ed, lived experiences of mental illness, psychologists’ perspectives, neurodiversity, and more. There will be two reading sessions in the weeks of November 9th and 23rd, specific date/times TBD. Books will be chosen based on two rounds of selection, and the selected book will be delivered straight to you! 

Google form survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScQMy0_ghfdmzle5a2UaOF5s4IHeKeNvTNxj1NYRl5zi5NPww/viewform?usp=sf_link

Co-organized by the GSG and Princeton University Neurodiversity Collective

III. Mental Health Month Anecdotes | Share your experience

We are seeking anonymous anecdotes to feature on our Slack and Facebook pages addressing mental health in graduate school. We would love to hear from you about any times of struggle you have faced as a graduate student and what helped with these struggles. We welcome any submission, but please be aware that we may edit your stories to ensure anonymity. Please submit your anecdote here by November 1st.

Link to google form: https://forms.gle/sthPAt2YVUCgw93c6 

Also feel free to check out the 2019 Mental Health Month Anecdotes and COVID-19 Anecdotes to see stories from fellow grad students navigating their own mental health at Princeton.

Graduate school can be overwhelming and anxiety-provoking, especially in these unprecedented times. Check out the Resources Page to see the resources available on campus, off campus, and additional COVID-19 related mental health resources!