More than 200 Gabrielino High School students learned ways to combat the challenges of mental health disorders during a talk by a psychiatric social worker as part of the school’s third Mental Health Day of the year.
“Anxiety and depression are different for everybody,” said Marcela Ayala of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. “Sometimes people feel sad, sometimes people feel angry, but no matter how you feel, the most important thing is that you acknowledge it, and that you reach out and tell someone.”
Gabrielino High School held the Mental Health Day on Feb. 13, providing students with information about depression and anxiety, activities that promote mental health awareness and resources available to those in need.
“I think the best part about having a mental wellness day is that, if you are going through something, now you know there are people there to help who are only a phone call away,” sophomore Yarelly Morales said. “I think it is important to talk about depression and mental health, even if it can be uncomfortable.”
Following the presentation, students spent their lunch relaxing with stress-relief coloring activities in the gym. Mental Health Day was organized by Gabrielino’s Wellness Council in partnership with the Associated Student Body and Peer Helping and Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) clubs.
The HOSA club also filmed a short PSA about the difference between depression and sadness and what resources are available at GHS to help students.