Pink pants and mental health

Hello again! I was hoping to write something a little more lighthearted than I did last week, but it was the ‘Bell Let’s Talk Day’ yesterday, and so I thought that I should talk a little about that instead.

On one hand, I think it’s a great initiative about bringing awareness about mental health issues to the greater public. On the other hand, I see it as a marketing tool and image booster for Bell Canada.

However, after talking with some of the wonderful people manning the ‘Hi Five’ booth in front of the main library yesterday, we agreed that it’s still a great opportunity for people to talk about stigma.

Yet, while having a ‘day’ to talk about complex issues like mental health is good and all, it is also something that should be talked about year round.

Yes, Bell is a corporation and is getting a lot of good publicity for their annual campaign, but it is still a goal that we can all strive for in our daily lives. So I would be dishonest if I didn’t say I had a keen interest in spreading awareness, having benefitted from UVic’s  Counselling Services in the past (and currently do).

You might be asking, ‘why did you even mention pink pants in the title?’ Well it was kind of an accident, as I found these wonderful pink pants on sale the other week and decided to wear them yesterday (talk about an anxiety rush).

Usually I am conservative in what I wear–you know, grays, blacks, dull colors and the like, a kind of ‘blend into the crowd’ appearance. So when I finally wore these pants in public, it was two parts terror one part nerves, but go figure, no one really noticed, and those that did actually liked them.

Needless to say, that is something I would never have done before entering post-secondary, and it just happened to be on a day about mental health. I think I need to make it part of my regular attire from now on. After all, this is university, so why not change up the wardrobe every once and awhile?

Next week’s entry will most likely be about hobbies and how I balance them with work and school. See you then!