You might've noticed the macarons on sale in the Nest, the signs on Main Mall or all the promotion of the huge Zumba event.
What all these events have in common is that they are all part of Thrive Week — a weeklong celebration held annually at UBC to promote positive mental health. The week, lasting from November 2 to 6, is all about encouraging students to take a moment to reflect on their personal situation as well as their physical one.
Kim Go, VP External of UBC's Mental Health Awareness Club, said that she believes mental health issues are commonly discounted by those who have them.
"Students often overlook it, because stress is seen as a normal thing for students to experience. But we can’t ignore it or push it aside, we need to deal with it. My mental health isn’t something I can ignore for good grades," she said.
According to the 2013 National College Health Assessment, mental illness afflicts 25 per cent of B.C. post-secondary students, making it the largest burden in terms of a single disease affecting B.C. students at colleges, universities and other post secondary institutions.
Thrive Week is for both faculty and students, encouraging all of campus to get involved and start the mental health conversation.
"It’s okay to feel down or if you think you have a mental health issue or struggle. Once you accept that, it’s a lot easier to move forward," said Go.
This time of year is especially stressful — students are trying to get through midterms and are losing hours of sleep. With the higher level of stress at the end of the term approaching, Thrive Week wants to spark that idea in your mind to consider your mental health and start prioritizing it.
“I think what’s great about Thrive is that it brings everyone together under that umbrella of positive mental health,” said Thrive Week organizer Miranda Massie. “For mental health, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution and every individual is different. So different things are going to appeal to ... the different people that we have on campus.”
According to Amanda Unruh, another Thrive Week organizer, a goal of Thrive Week is to avoid being prescriptive in helping those with mental illness as students have diverse and varied needs.
"It's not called 'Get Through Your Midterms' or 'Don’t Stay Up Too Late.' Sometimes in health education, there’s a tendency to tell people what not to do," said Unruh. "The title of the week is 'Thrive' because we want students at UBC — who are mostly very high achievers — to be able to thrive while they’re here. It's about flourishing [and] it's about feeling good with your mental health."