On Monday, October 15, visitors to St. Petersburg College’s Caruth Health Education Center were treated to some love in the form of yoga, massage chairs and yummy chai. The event, hosted by the HEC, the National University of Health Sciences (NUHS), and Barry University, was SPC’s first “Break the Stigma” event.

At Break the Stigma, multiple resources for well-being were made available to the HEC community. In addition to yoga, massage and tea, community mental health resources were on hand, including NAMI, Suncoast, and PEMHS.

Most often, the stigma attached to mental illness is what prevents individuals from seeking the care and treatment they need. NAMI’s StigmaFree campaign was used to get SPC’s Health Sciences and Veterinary Technology community to commit to eliminating the stigma associated with mental health.

A Lunch and Learn presentation coincided with the resources in the community room. The goal of the presentation was educating our future health care providers so they will treat mental illness like any other chronic health disease.

Dr. Robert L. Arnold – known as Dr. Bob – was the first presenter. He holds a doctorate in Counseling Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Professional School Psychology. He is a noted national speaker and adjunct professor at the Barry University College of Medicine and the National University of Health Sciences.

Dr. Bob’s presentation started with NAMI’s most recent statistics on mental health: “One out of five American adults will experience mental illness, and nearly one out of 25 American adults live with a serious mental illness”. His focus was addressing the stigma which first starts with the language we use and our attitudes towards mental illness in turn how we treat people with mental illness.

Justin Shea, a student in the Public Policy and Administration program as well as the public address announcer at SPC, was the second presenter. Shea works full-time as the Cultural Facilities Events Supervisor for a local municipality in Pinellas County and as a Board Member for NAMI Pinellas.

Shea shared his journey with mental illness, starting with being diagnosed at age 19. He described in detail how simple everyday tasks become a full time job. He stated that he felt worthless; that his life did not matter, and he isolated in the darkness of a beautiful day. By the age of 20, he was labeled disabled. In 2004, Justin discovered Vincent House, which is a voluntary club model for people with mental illness. He said that at first he would just attend, but with the patience and encouragement of a Vincent House worker, he started working on simple tasks. Then he started to work on vocational skills, leading to working part-time. He later upgraded to full-time work and successfully transitioned off disability benefits with the help and coaching of the Vincent House model. He still lives with mental illness, but with support, treatment, and his employment, he is a successful advocate for others living with mental illness.

Hopefully, this event was successful in encouraging people to face mental illness and seek treatment without fear of attached stigma.