World Mental Health Day, a day aimed at raising mental health awareness, promoting mental health education and destigmatizing mental health issues, is celebrated every year on Oct. 10.

A Student Newsletter sent out on this day announced mental health related programming throughout October available to students and other NYU Abu Dhabi community members, including Mental Health First Aid Training and webinars from Lighthouse Arabia. There was also a new initiative named Coffee Chats where participants shared their personal experiences around mental health in conversations facilitated by Farah Dahabi, a licensed clinical social worker and Mental Health First Aid Director at Lighthouse Arabia.

Taman Temirgaliyeva, Class of 2024, shared with us her experience of the Mental Health First Aid Training: “We talked about proper responses when you suspect someone is going through depression, anxiety, eating disorders and other mental health issues. We learned techniques, like the ALGEE, on how to understand others’ situations and how to provide a safe space for conversation.”

“As a psychology major, I have always been interested in things regarding mental health. I want to connect my future with helping people [with their mental health]. I feel like one of the hardest things is understanding how to respond and how to ask the right questions without taking away the attention from the person and at the same time not ignoring the boundaries they have. This training really helped me with that,” shared Temirgaliyeva.

We also sat down in a Zoom chat with Tina Wadhwa, Director of Student Success & Well-being Office, to learn more about the events from the perspective of the administration.

“This year it was a beautiful institutional approach. It was a collaborative effort. The idea of Coffee Chats was born out of the Vice Chancellor’s office and our relationship with Lighthouse Arabia,” Wadhwa said. “REACH and our student assistants were also heavily involved.”

When asked about the intention behind this year’s programming, Wadhwa stated: “This year was really focused on advocating against social stigma. That is really important to us as it always is. A core role of the [Student Success & Well-being] department is to destigmatize mental health and normalize asking for help. When you break your arm, you go to the doctor and when you are feeling down, you go to a counselor. Many of us come from cultures where our mental health needs are not addressed in the same way as our physical health. We want to help our community to see … there’s no shame attached to mental health challenges. It’s part of who we are.”

Both Wadhwa and Temirgaliyeva touched on the connection between mental health and our belongingness on campus. Wadhwa said that “we want to really highlight that the topic of mental health is not new. It’s part of the fabric of NYUAD for so long. It’s really important that we frame mental health as a piece of our belongingness.”

The sentiment was echoed in our interview with Temirgaliyeva: “[The Mental Health First Aid Training] contributed to … or served as another opportunity for me to understand the value of the community and the people who are there for us. And that helped with my sense of belonging here.”

We also asked Wadhwa how the pandemic has impacted mental health on campus: “The pandemic has taken a tremendous toll on people’s mental health. We have been in isolation. We’ve been dealing with the looming uncertainty of when we can see people we love, when we can travel, when we can study away, when we can return to campus ... This all adds a great deal of pressure.”

“In addition, returning to campus, even though that’s something we were yearning for, also had a strong impact on [our mental health]. It’s important to recognize people who thrived in a virtual setting and the social anxiety of returning to an in-person setting,” Wadhwa continued.

The pandemic has also turned more people’s attention towards mental health. “This year’s Mental Health First Aid Training filled within (snaps). Most people opted into that because they want to support others. It’s really encouraging to see that. The host from Lighthouse Arabia was blown away by the student engagement.” said Wadhwa.

Lastly, Wadhwa told us that there will be more events on mental health organized by the Health Promotion Office, including more sessions of Mental Health First Aid Training, to keep the conversation going. In the meantime, she encourages students to pause and take care of their mental health when they are not feeling well. Wadhwa stressed that her office is always an open door for students who want to drop by and talk.

Wellness Exchange, available 24/7 via phone +971 2 628 5555 or through the Wellness Exchange Mobile App.

Counseling appointments can be booked by visiting the Health Center, calling +971 2 628 8124, or via email (nyuad.healthcenter@nyu.edu).

Recordings of webinars from LightHouse Arabia that discusses a range of topics from coping with anxiety during Covid-19 to developing a compassionate mindset towards mental health.