Jaanvi G.

UVic Student Mental Health Blogger

My name is Jaanvi (she/her) and I’m a 1st year international student studying psychology.

In high school, I helped children from underprivileged backgrounds cope with mental health issues like stress, anxiety and anger. I used healing modalities like art therapy, dance therapy, guided meditation and breathing exercises to give the children a chance to vent their negative emotions and experience relief. After many sessions, I witnessed a certain calmness in the children and noticed an increase in optimism towards life. This made me realise how powerful mind-body therapies can be in reducing emotional symptoms. This is when I knew I wanted to promote mental health services and fight the stigma associated with therapy and mental health issues like depression and anxiety.  

I want to write for the Student Mental Health Blog because I think the most effective way to battle mental health stigma is by talking about it! I hope that my blogs make UVic students more knowledgeable and comfortable with the idea of mental health.