Watch the following Ted Talk, featuring college student Jack Park. In this talk, Park shares his story of living with a mental disorder and revisits some of the ways he found help and hope. He makes the case for seeing mental illness in a new light, so that people can begin to address some of the issues associated with suicide, depression, and other preventable mental disorders.
Write a short (250 – 500 word) response paper in which you address the following questions:
- What do you think of Jack’s practice of changing his "to-do” lists into "want-to-do” lists? What does he hope to gain from this shift?
- Which coping mechanisms does Jack observe his fellow students using to deal with stress and mental health challenges? What does Jack think is the deeper problem?
- Why, in Jack’s view, is it hard for people to get help for mental health problems in the same way they might seek help for dental problems?
- Add your own thoughts about the obstacles you think students may face in getting help for mental health issues.