Mental Health Fair Is Fun for All!

One of the tables provided at the mental health fair encourages  students to reflect, take resources, and engage in conversations about well-being on campus. (Photo courtesy of Max Ketterman).

Stress and college are an unfortunate pair that is a part of all college students' lives. Some people do not know how to cope with the stress and are not aware of the resources on a college campus. But this mental health fair is a great start to bettering your mental health.

I attended the Mental Health Fair located in the Oakland Center. The first thing that I noticed was that the color green was very prominent, especially at the welcome desk. The table sign, flyers, and small, fun accessories. Green is the international color for mental health awareness.

After I walked down the stairs to the actual fair, I noticed that there were a lot of different stations

with each individual theme to it that all fell under mental health. There were informational tables

and there were activity centered tables.

Rock painting, balloon animals, and motivational note writing were the main three that caught

my eye for activity driven tables. Whether you are completing an activity, or watching it, it helps

your mind take a break from all the class work for a little bit and reset.

There were also some tables that were promoting later events for mental health awareness. For

example, the Oakland Rec Center is hosting a walk to support mental health and to reduce

suicide. This is a great way to meet people and create connections with others to help reduce

stress.

The table offered you to take a green bandana and tie it around your backpack or any other item

you want. This signifies that you are a safe person to approach and it shows that you are

supportive of mental health, and that you can guide someone in the right direction with the

resources on campus.

In case people got hungry or thirsty, the fair provided food and beverages to the people there. Grabbing a bite to eat and talking to your peers takes your mind off of things that may be going

on in your life.

It was great to see so many options for all the people at this fair. Everyone is different when it

comes to dealing with mental health. Different coping mechanisms, people to talk to, and much

more.

This experience was great and was very informative to everyone who came. These events will

help others get the help if they need it and it is a great resource to look back at to see what

works best for your mental health.

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