Four University of Lethbridge students have launched a campaign aimed at improving mental health with a little help from natural remedies.
Including going for a walk, standing barefoot in the grass and listening to music.
The initiative is called #MycosMentalHealth and features the four students who walk around the U of L campus asking people what their natural mental health remedy is. The answers are written on a chalkboard and then photos are posted to Instagram.
Gregory Robinson is the founder of Mycos and he told us how the idea came to fruition.
“It started about two, three months ago. I came up with this idea. And, you know, I’m a grad student here at the University of Lethbridge. I’m doing my PhD. And it’s very common for grad students as well as all Canadian youth to have mental health and mental illness issues. It’s about 20-35 per cent of all Canadian youths. It’s the most prevalent in youth compared to any other age group. As well as 90 per cent of all suicides are directly related to mental health and mental illness in Canada. And so I wanted to do something that would really benefit Canadians. And when we look at other mental health campaigns, they don’t talk about the remedies. They just try to talk about mental health in general. And so that’s when I talked to a couple of my friends, two other business owners here in Lethbridge, and we started this campaign that just launched literally yesterday.”
The announcement of the campaign coincides with Mental Illness Awareness Week here in Alberta.
Robinson says when students repost the Instagram photos, they will be entered into a monthly draw to win a prize.
A news release went on to say that Robinson donated $500 to start a scholarship fund and is seeking further funding from the University, undergraduate and graduate student administrations, as well as applying for funding through the NeuroSpark Innovation Grants program through Campus Alberta Neuroscience. The scholarships would be awarded to the students who raise the most awareness.