Objectives

• Identify the difference between occasional negative emotions and more serious mental health issues, such as anxiety disorder or depression
• Explore practices for ensuring mental health and emotional balance in your life
• Identify resources for further information and guidance about mental health issues

Directions

Watch the following Tedx Talk, featuring college student Jack Park. In this talk, Park shares his story of living with a mental disorder and revisits some of the ways he found help and hope. He makes the case for seeing mental illness in a new light, so that people can begin to address some of the issues associated with suicide, depression, and other preventable mental disorders.

1. Write a short (1–2 pages) response paper in which you address the following questions:
   • What do you think of Jack’s practice of changing his “to-do” lists into “want-to-do” lists? What does he hope to gain from this shift?
   • Which coping mechanisms does Jack observe his fellow students using to deal with stress and mental health challenges? What does Jack think is the deeper problem?
   • Why, in Jack’s view, is it hard for people to get help for mental health problems in the same way they might seek help for dental problems?
   • Add your own thoughts about the obstacles you think students may face in getting help for mental health issues.