The university’s Mental Health Campaign officially kicked off Tuesday with National Mental Health Awareness Day. 

The event featured a moderated conversation with Kier Gaines, a licensed therapist and mental health social media influencer.

“The first step to destigmatizing mental health is to talk about it casually,” Gaines said. “One important action students can take to prioritize their mental health is to acknowledge they can’t do everything at once.

One important action students can take to prioritize their mental health is to acknowledge they can’t do everything at once, he said.

“When everything’s urgent, nothing’s urgent,” Gaines said. “Sometimes I have to take my task list from ten items to two, and really focus and hone in on those two items, be more qualitative, less quantitative.”

Angelique Daniels, the moderator of the discussion and director of marketing research and strategy for University Communications and Marketing, said she was excited about the awareness the campaign offers to students.

“I hope that this campaign will illuminate conversation around [mental health] and create a bit of normalcy and acceptance, so that way folks don’t feel rejected or embarrassed about their conditions,” Daniels said. 

During Gaines’ discussion, he said there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding mental illnesses and that they are not always as easy to spot. 

“I like to compare it to Glaucoma,” he said. “Glaucoma is one of the world’s leading causes of blindness, and glaucoma is called the silent disease because it takes your vision away slowly, over a very long time and you don’t notice it. That’s how depression is.”

Anthony Collins, a third-year Kent State student who attended the event, said he felt the event was enlightening, and that the content spoke to experiences in his personal life. 

“More people are aware of these issues, and that’s nice. I suppose that there’s a lot more to learn,” Collins said.

Gaines said he understands the challenges that come with dealing with mental health and that he hopes to help address the harsh realities.

“I think there needs to be a presence that normalizes and humanizes the experience of seeing that, acknowledges that those things are difficult, but also talks about progressive ways to get ourselves out of it,” Gaines said.

Daniels said having worked alongside the coordinators of the campaign, she knows firsthand the time and effort that goes into building these programs, and she’s happy that she was able to help elevate it.

“It was done out of a place of love and care, and I think it truly uplifts and gives new meaning to ‘Flashes Take Care of Flashes,’” Daniels said.

Janson McNair is photo assistant. Contact him at [email protected].