OCD Chicago to Co-Sponsor National Stress Øut Day
OCD Chicago has joined Active Minds to sponsor National Stress Øut Day, a nationwide effort to educate students about the difference between everyday anxiety and an anxiety disorder or other mental illness.
The event, which is also sponsored by Anxiety Disorders Association of America with support from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, will be held during the week of April 12-16. Students will engage in activities aimed to relieve pre-finals stress while reducing the stigma around mental health disorders which can prevent students from seeking treatment. (See the list of colleges participating at the end of this article.)
“OCD can be extremely debilitating, and it is crucial that those suffering reach out for help as early as possible,” said OCD Chicago Executive Director Ellen Sawyer. “That is why we are proud to partner with Active Minds to help educate college students about mental health issues, and let them know that there is a place to go for help and information.”
OCD and other anxiety disorders are the most common mental health problems on college campuses. Forty million U.S. adults suffer from an anxiety disorder, and 75 percent of them experience their first episode of anxiety by age 22.
National Stress Øut Day reminds students to take care of their mental health, an important reminder in light of an Associated Press and mtvU survey that found that 34 percent of students have felt depressed at some point in the past three months, 13 percent have been diagnosed with a mental health condition such as an anxiety disorder or depression, and 9 percent have seriously considered suicide in the past year.
Colleges participating in National Stress Øut Day:
American University
Assumption College
Augustana College
Baker University
Bryn Mawr College
Cabrini College
California State University Chico
California State University Long Beach
Carthage College
Central Michigan University
Chapman University
Colby College
College of Mt. St. Joseph
College of St. Catherine
College of St. Scholastica
Collin County Community College
Dartmouth College
Dickinson College
Earlham College
Elms College
Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University
Florida Institute of Technology
Florida International University
Front Range Community College
Georgia Perimeter College
Georgia Perimeter College-Dunwoody
Grand Valley State University
Grinnell College
Hastings College
Immaculata University
Indiana University
Indiana University of PA
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne
Ithaca College
James Madison University
Keene State College
Kent State University
Lafayette College
Lake Forest College
Le Moyne College
Marquette University
McDaniel College
Misericordia University
Mississippi State University
Montclair State University
Montgomery College- Rockville
Moravian College
Muhlenberg College
Naropa University
New York University
Newark Ohio State University
Niagra University
Northern Illinois University-DeKalb
Ohio State University
Oregon State University
Our Lady of the Lake University
Sacred Heart University
Saint Louis University
Samford University
San Francisco State University
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Slippery Rock University
Southern Oregon University
Stevenson University
Temple University
The College of New Jersey
The New School
The Teacher’s College
Thomas Jefferson High School
Towson College
University of California Los Angeles
University of California Santa Barbara
University of Central Florida
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
University of Connecticut
University of Dayton
University of Delaware
University of Florida
University of Memphis
University of Montana
University of Nevada Las Vegas
University of New Haven
University of North Carolina Wilmington
University of North Florida
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh-Bradford
University of Richmond
University of South Carolina
University of South Florida
University of Southern California
University of Southern Indiana
University of St. Thomas
University of Texas at Brownsville
University of Washington
Ursinus College
Virginia Tech University
Wellesley College
West Chester University
West Springfield High School
Western Illinois University
Wofford College
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Xavier University
