UPEI group works to keep mental health in the conversation all year

UPEI Mental Health Week, with events aimed at starting conversations on mental health, begins on Monday and runs to Friday, but there's a student-led organization on campus that works to keep people talking about the issue year-round.

Jack.org is a national organization with chapters in every province. Fourth-year student Grace Wedlake helped form the local chapter a few years agoand now runs it with fellow student Amy Rix.

It's kind of been a way to channel my own frustrations and alsoto build connections with other people.- Grace Wedlake

Wedlake and Rixboth know from personal experience how difficult dealing with mental health issues can be.

"I struggled with my mental health, I struggled with a lot of anxiety and I didn'thave the words to explain it," said Wedlake.

"It wasn't that no one is supporting me, it was that no one really knew what was happening until I got to UPEI and went to the Jack summit."

'I found my voice'

Rixsuffered from anxiety and severe depression when she was in junior high and said she didn't feel comfortable talking to people about it.

"I didn'tknow how to reach out for help. I didn't know if there was help there. I didn't know if I told people if they would judge me, and it just resulted in a lot of self-conscious problems," she said.

Jack.org has had a positive effect for both students.

I found my voice on this campus.I found my voice through Jack.org.- Amy Rix

"It's been a really incredible way to just kind of relate with other people who are also struggling and also have these frustrations," said Wedlake.

"So it's just been a way to put my passion and my frustration and all of my energies into making a difference."

Rixsaid she was surprised there were other people with similar struggles, and it was helpful to have their support.

"I was like wow, there's this whole network of people who feel the way that I feel and have been through the same things that I've been through," she said.

"I found my voice on this campus. I found my voice through Jack.org."

Telling stories

During Mental Health Week,Rix and Wedlake will be sharing their stories in the hopes that it will inspire others to talk about their own struggles, and be better prepared to listen if someone else needs to talk.

CBC:P.E.I. is hosting a public discussion on mental health at The Guild next Wednesday.

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