{"id":36228,"date":"2015-11-03T12:02:45","date_gmt":"2015-11-03T16:02:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=36228"},"modified":"2015-11-03T12:04:53","modified_gmt":"2015-11-03T16:04:53","slug":"students-speak-out-about-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2015\/11\/students-speak-out-about-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Students Speak Out about mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cAll great changes are preceded by chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brock University student Brett Straus, 23, keeps that Deepak Chopra quote on his computer desktop. It reminds him that no matter what challenges life throws at him, there is always light at the end of the tunnel.<\/p>\n

Straus, 23, will share his story of struggling with anxiety during Speak Out Night Wednesday, Nov. 4. Two undergraduate students and two graduate students, one who will also give a parent\u2019s perspective, will share their experience with mental illness during the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t suicidal but I was questioning the point of life. I thought I\u2019d be like that forever,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Looking back, Straus knows he was always an anxious person. But, it wasn\u2019t until he started university that his fears started to overwhelm him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs my responsibilities increased, so did my anxiety,\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n

After suffering two concussions in as many years, Straus was forced to finally deal with his anxiety. It had started to manifest in panic attacks. He knew he needed help.<\/p>\n

He dropped out of university and underwent rehab for two years, mainly to deal with the side effects of his concussions, including disorientation, light sensitivity, confusion and depression. A side benefit, he says now, was being forced to work through his anxiety.
\n\u201cI didn\u2019t have a choice but to dive into my disorder and deal with it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Straus has now been off medication for five months and he\u2019s back at Brock studying business.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was chaotic and led to great change,\u201d he says of the tough two years. \u201cIt was the most uncomfortable time of my life \u2013 but the best thing that ever happened to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not allowing fear to control my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Straus will encourage others to reach out for help during his talk Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to be the one to face it but you have people to lean on the entire time,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The event takes place from 7:30-9 p.m. at Pond Inlet. Admission is free and everyone is encouraged to attend. If you can\u2019t make it, a livestream is available at http:\/\/brockvideocentre.brocku.ca<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The event is aimed at raising awareness, lifting the stigma around mental health issues and encouraging people to seek help if needed.<\/p>\n

The event – organized by Student Health Services, Personal Counselling-(SDC), Active Minds, Student Justice Centre, Canadian Mental Health \u2013 Niagara, BUSU and the GSA – is an open and free event to both students and the community.<\/p>\n

During the event, Student Health Services and Personal Counselling-(SDC) will launch Brock University\u2019s new mental health website, an extensive site for everyone, with detailed information about mental health and wellness for students.<\/p>\n

\"speak<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAll great changes are preceded by chaos.\u201d
\nBrock University student Brett Straus, 23, keeps that Deepak Chopra quote on his computer desktop. It reminds him that no matter what challenges life throws at him, there is always light at the end of the tunnel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":36233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3319,1,4],"tags":[1586,3544,71],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36228"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36228"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36238,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36228\/revisions\/36238"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}