After becoming friends last academic year, Weinberg sophomores Seela Hinrichs and Finola Summerville realized that NU students lacked the psychological resources for an environment with a culture of perfectionism.
“I feel like everyone in our class is always struggling with something,” Hinrichs said.
In an effort to combat stigma, Hinrichs and Summerville founded the NU chapter of “If You’re Reading This,” a national organization founded by students at the University of Virginia that seeks to connect issues and experiences..
Each chapter accepts submissions from students, faculty and alumni about their own mental health experiences. Readers can contact our letter writers on the “If You’re Reading This” page to share issues with us.
Whether it’s related to family issues, cheating or transitioning to a new course, NU’s chapter should help students who are struggling so they don’t feel alone, Hinrichs said.
“No matter what you’re struggling with, there’s someone out there who is,” Hinrichs said.
The NU chapter has already published two newsletters and plans to release one a week online and on Instagram, according to Summerville.
He added that he hoped the chapter would receive articles from all areas of the camp so that online visitors would be able to read more that they could relate to.
“Especially being a student at Northwestern, I would say that most of the students here are well used,” Summerville said. “To be at Northwestern, it takes a lot of effort, and I think that in college it will surprise me a lot if things don’t go as well as they used to.”
Weinberg senior Kade Kelley said she cited her first years in psychology as a peer counselor. He was the first NU student to send a newsletter to “If You’re Reading This NU” and wrote about introversion and problems related to fitting in.
Kelley said she felt at risk of sharing her story and questioned how much she should disclose.
But, after the letter was sent, Kelley said some of her friends reached out to say they also wanted to promote mental health issues. Kelley said she hopes more NU students will connect with each other to discuss mental health moving forward.
Addressing mental illness can help reduce stigma and encourage people to seek help when needed, he said.
“We’re just helping people on college campuses understand that they’re not alone, and creating a community of people who are going through what we’re all going through,” said Medill sophomore and Daily staff member Julia Nichols, NU’s chapter photographer.
Social media can give a false impression of people’s experiences, said Nichols, which the “If You’re Reading This NU” Instagram account aims to counter.
Hinrichs and Summerville said the theme has gotten a lot of support on Instagram so far, including lots of positive comments and retweets.
Nichols pointed out that there is a lack of medical support or real support at NU – where other academic institutions step in.
Kelley said students understand what they need but it’s difficult for the university to find those resources.
“We have a lot of psychological resources that students have had negative experiences with,” Kelley said. “(If You’re Reading This) is very focused on students, as far as understanding the kinds of problems that people face here in the Northwest and the problems that people have here.”
Summerville said the NU chapter is not officially recognized by Student Affairs and Activities, but the group is working to increase its presence on campus.
“If You’re Reading This NU” hopes to host meetings and events, according to Summerville.
“I hope it just makes it easier for people to feel like there’s a place where they can talk about health and life and feel like being vulnerable isn’t a weakness,” Nichols said, “where they can just come as they are, knowing that they’re welcome here.”
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @karapeeler
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