Meet Syrah | Huskers Keep Growing

CYFS Author

09/02/2021 Added

96 Plays

Description

Meet Husker Syrah Andrews, Secondary Math Education. Syrah shares why it's important to reach out when you need support and take steps to care for your emotional well-being. … Watch more student stories and learn about campus resources to support your emotional well-being on the Big Red Resilience & Well-being website: https://go.unl.edu/huskerskeepgrowing. The Huskers Keep Growing positive message campaign was created in partnership with the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families & Schools.

Searchable Transcript

Search:

[00:00:00.299](lighthearted electronic music)
[00:00:12.320]My name is Syrah.
[00:00:13.350]I'm going into my senior year at UNL, and I'm studying
[00:00:15.770]secondary math education.
[00:00:18.070]I got involved in Big Red Resilience & Well-being
[00:00:20.610]my sophomore year,
[00:00:21.780]because my roommate was a well-being ambassador
[00:00:24.400]and it looked like she was doing great work
[00:00:25.435]on campus.
[00:00:26.719]So I applied and I'm currently a coach.
[00:00:30.550]One of the first few times, I really noticed
[00:00:33.090]that I needed to take care of my mental health
[00:00:35.480]was when I was really getting depressed
[00:00:37.590]towards the end of my senior year of high school,
[00:00:40.380]and going into that summer.
[00:00:42.170]I was confused,
[00:00:43.440]I didn't know why this was happening.
[00:00:45.430]And I finally broke down,
[00:00:46.450]and I opened up to my mom about it.
[00:00:48.540]And I really understood more
[00:00:49.630]about what my family's history of mental health
[00:00:51.900]looked like.
[00:00:52.840]And that's when we decided to look into talking to someone
[00:00:55.800]about it and getting help.
[00:00:57.930]And that was a really important moment for me
[00:00:59.590]because it really went uphill from there.
[00:01:03.530]Opening up was scary.
[00:01:05.330]It was hard being able to be vulnerable
[00:01:07.700]in a way that I hadn't before.
[00:01:09.620]To not be afraid
[00:01:10.910]of stereotypes,
[00:01:12.960]or diagnoses, or anything.
[00:01:15.730]Like when I was really depressed,
[00:01:17.790]I was diagnosed with OCD
[00:01:19.337]and it really opened up a lot of doors
[00:01:21.860]to understanding myself,
[00:01:23.730]how my brain works, and how I could move on past that.
[00:01:27.132]I think it's so important
[00:01:28.720]to end the stigma around mental health
[00:01:31.360]and your own well-being,
[00:01:32.410]because labels can be scary.
[00:01:34.298]Saying, "I have OCD" or "I have depression,"
[00:01:37.780]can be a lot of baggage, but it's realizing
[00:01:41.090]that people are more than these stereotypes.
[00:01:43.710]And there shouldn't be anything to be ashamed of
[00:01:46.080]when talking about mental health.
[00:01:48.767]It's really moving, being able to be on the other side,
[00:01:52.330]helping somebody else,
[00:01:53.550]because when you are in a dark place,
[00:01:55.988]it really seems like there is no escape,
[00:01:58.569]there is no light.
[00:01:59.978]But being able to come out on the other side of that
[00:02:03.150]and see that there is hope,
[00:02:04.550]and there is growth,
[00:02:06.110]it's really rewarding knowing that,
[00:02:07.970]that could make a big difference.

Meet Syrah | Huskers Keep Growing

Description

Searchable Transcript

Comments

Related Channels

Meet Syrah | Huskers Keep Growing

Description

Searchable Transcript

Comments icon comment

Related Channels

Comments