USAC offers mental health workshops about sleep, relationships and stress during midterm season

A free three-part mental health workshop series and several smaller events planned for this week aim to encourage positivity and mental wellness in students during the peak of midterm season.

Educational workshops about sleep, relationships and stress will be led by Active Minds and Student Health Advocates, sub-committees of the Student Welfare Commission.

The events are relevant to students, especially this week, because of the generally stressful climate of midterm season, said Raquel Saxe, academic affairs commissioner and third-year political science student.

The Undergraduate Students Association Council sponsored the events for the second Mental Health Week in the last two years.

USAC has put more emphasis on mental health education; the council felt the issue was not given adequate attention in past years, Saxe added.

The Academic Affairs Commission intends to promote the relationship between mental health and academics through the activities, Saxe said.

Brochures about academic support resources and UCLA’s Counseling and Psychological Services will be distributed to students on Thursday on Bruin Walk.

“I think one of the biggest dangers with mental health issues is when students are unable to come to terms with what they’re dealing with or seek out help,” Saxe said.

“It’s something in the past that hasn’t been openly discussed.”

Student-led support of mental health education is important and the Student Welfare Commission meets this need, said Elizabeth Gong-Guy, director of Counseling and Psychological Services.

“It’s really hard to get students in the mind-set about being vigilant about their wellness needs,” Gong-Guy said.

On Tuesday, Active Minds, whose members are trained by the counseling center staff, led a sleep workshop in the Rieber Vista Multi-purpose Room to teach students sleep management techniques.

Dylan Sarnowski, a first-year undeclared student, said he is interested in communications and hopes to learn about communication differences between social and roommate relationships at the “Relationship Guide to Survival” workshop tonight.

The workshop, held by the Student Health Advocates, is an example of a session geared toward specific student issues such as managing romantic, social and roommate relationships.

The Student Welfare Commission offers all of the Mental Health Week workshops throughout the year as well as other workshops on suicide prevention and CPR training, said Tamir Sholklapper, student welfare commissioner and fourth-year neuroscience student.