To many Highland students, the once-a-week advisory classes seem like a lot of the same thing. Go through a power point, watch a mindfulness video, maybe get some time at the end to do homework. But on Oct. 5, Highland sophomores got something a little different.
During advisory, the sophomore classes were split into three groups for a special, in-person presentation by the Highland counselors. They made the decision to present the topic in-person over doing a video because of the gravity of it. The topic was suicide prevention.
“We feel like this is a more personal and serious topic, so we think it is important to do in person,” said Highland Counselor Victoria Saley.
Alternating between videos and group discussion, the counselors presented a topic that may have been hard for students to hear. The videos shared different people’s experiences with depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and self-harm.
Between each video, the presenter talked about some of the signs that somebody was experiencing one of these things and what to do if someone noticed their friend was struggling with their mental health.
“We’re [also] encouraging people to reach out for help and […] know there is help available,” said Saley.
The presenter encouraged students to talk to a trusted adult, a family member, a teacher, or one of the counselors. And if they didn’t feel comfortable with talking to someone in person, to use to the Safe UT app to reach out and get help.
Multiple times during the presentation, the counselor presenting made it clear that if any student was struggling and needed to step out into the hall to talk to a counselor, they could do so.
“As counselors, we’re seeing a lot more students that are struggling with thoughts of self-harm and depression and anxiety,” said Saley. “They’re having a lot of strong emotions and feelings and they’re not always sure how to handle those feelings.”
The biggest point the counselor made was to find people to talk to. They made it clear that human interaction was very important for those who were struggling to begin to feel better and strongly encouraged students to find someone to connect to.
In an effort to create more awareness about mental health, the counselors will be presenting similar presentations to Highland’s freshman, juniors, and seniors throughout the rest of the year.
