Alison Malmon: The right to be healthy

I am writing this as a incredibly saddened member of the Penn community, the president of a new mental health awareness group on campus called Open Minds, an undergraduate classmate of Jose Joseph and the sister of an Ivy League college student who, too, committed suicide less than two years ago.

My brother's story was (unfortunately) typical of the hundreds of students who suffer from depression, anxiety or a variety of other mental health problems. He "got sick" with an undiagnosed mental illness during his freshman year of college. Two-and-a-half years later, he finally went and talked to a therapist at his school.

He suffered those two-and-a-half years in dire pain, with immense feelings of loneliness and solitude, before letting anyone into his world. He was scared to admit that something could be wrong because he had been the near-perfect teenager that we all seemed to be, and did not understand what was happening to him. Tragically, his story ended a short time later, when he decided the pain was just too much to bear, and he ended it. Just as Jose did, just as too many other college students do.

I want to thank The Daily Pennsylvanian for its extraordinarily informative and much needed piece on depression ("Under pressure," 10/30/01). Mental health issues are just as important as those surrounding physical health. Yet as a society, we tend to ignore them as though they don't exist or cannot be helped. So those who are unfortunate enough to become sick not only feel the implications of their illness, but the stigma of being labeled imperfect and blameworthy by the common sentiment of our society, and the belief that they are completely alone in their struggle.

But mental illness is real. One out of every four women and one out of every 10 men will suffer from clinical depression in his or her lifetime; half of whom report its onset before the age of 20. Bipolar depression, which typically develops in late adolescence or early adulthood, affects one out of every 100 people. Seventy-five percent of schizophrenic patients become ill between the ages of 15 and 25. And researchers have estimated that as many as 20 to 30 percent of college-age women may display bulimic and/or anorexic behaviors.

Just as real as the illnesses are the numerous resources available for those who choose to seek help. Counseling and Psychological Services provides free, confidential services to all Penn students. There are national organizations like the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the National Mental Health Campaign and the National Institute of Mental Health that can provide information and support to sufferers and their families. Friends are always there to lean on, as well.

The support is out there, but something must be done to make it a comfortable environment so people feel they can reach out and get it. We have to change the "hush hush" attitude about mental health issues that is so characteristic of our society. There is no reason for it, especially here on a campus that prides itself on its "acceptance of all."

Everyone deserves to be able to admit to psychological difficulties and seek help without feeling alone or ashamed; everyone has a right to enjoy life. Help is out there -- and you have every right to go get it.

There is a new group on campus this year that I founded called Open Minds, which is devoted to raising awareness about mental health at Penn. Fact sheets and flyers are posted, authorities are coming to speak and there will be a charity coffeehouse benefiting the adolescents of a local psychiatric hospital tonight.

Please -- read the flyers, listen to the experts, support the cause and let yourself learn. Too many of us are affected; there are too many facts out there that people just don't recognize. It's time to end the societal stigma of mental illness that starts with a simple lack of understanding. We can do that, starting small, right here at Penn.

My heart goes out to Jose's family and friends. As you struggle with the unanswered questions and immense grief, my hope for you is that it will only get easier with time.

Alison Malmon is a junior Psychology and Sociology major from Potomac, Maryland.

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