Bring Change to Mind

Google Classroom: r275sqn
Instagram: @che.bc2m

In the midst of craziness and uncertainty in the current climate, it is crucial to remain conscious of the well-being of yourself and loved ones. Two caring East students, Abby Yu (‘23) and Brielle Lampf (‘23), combined their passion for “eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health” by bringing the Bring Change 2 Mind (BC2M) club to East.

Bring Change 2 Mind is a national nonprofit organization focused on encouraging conversations and raising awareness relating to mental health. Yu and Lampf emphasized the importance of remembering the two of them are not licensed therapists and in no way wish to serve as a replacement for more intense therapy. However, the intentions on bringing the BC2M chapter to East was to properly educate high school students on mental health.

When asked about the reason for developing the BC2M at East, Yu responded, “[we] want to remind people that they are capable, strong, and not alone.”

The goal of the club, alongside the mission statement of educating students on mental health, is to create a comfortable environment where people can come together and talk about mental health, whether it relates to themselves or not.

Yu and Lampf believe that, in the current environment, young adults have to take more responsibility in understanding and educating themselves on mental health. In order to properly do so, the BC2M club anticipates using games such as Kahoot to test and improve knowledge on mental health, with the inclusion of some unknown facts.

Lampf said, “[there] is a significant difference between a panic attack and anxiety,” which is an example of the facts the club wants to clarify for members, as mental health terms can religiously be overused in social settings.

The club leaders emphasize that they do not want to fill meetings with fact-filled presentations, rather they wish to initiate comfortable dialogue relating to the interests of all members. In recent months, many East students raised concerns about the role the school takes in terms of mental health. With that being said, the BC2M club works to provide a positive ambience for open discussions, as well as allowing for opportunities to learn.

It is important to not only understand mental health, but to properly grasp the difficulties and struggles that are accompanied with it. The BC2M organization combats mental health on a large, national scale, but Yu and Lampf decided to bring the positives surrounding education on difficult subjects to East students and the community as a whole.