Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2021 - 60

CHANGEOVER

COMMUNITY POINTS OF VIEW

Mental Health
Days
By Jay Sheehan

s we leaned into Zoom this past year, I
found I needed some additional help in
keeping students engaged for the full
class period. My thoughts turned to the idea
of starting class with a short podcast from a
variety of sources.
One of the more dynamic podcast sites
I discovered was TedTalks Daily. These short
episodes would always grab my attention,
and many of them helped to guide me with
my own challenges about getting through the
pandemic while dealing with self-isolation.
One episode in particular took me by
surprise. I stopped what I was doing as I
wanted to make sure that I was fully listening
to the guest speaker on the Ted Talk Stage.
Her topic of conversation resonated with
me a great deal that day. The speaker was a
young college student by the name of Hailey
Hardcastle. Hailey had been diagnosed at the
age of 6 with clinical depression and traumainduced anxiety. Her early college days were
often filled with panic attacks and breakdowns. Some semesters her grades suffered,
depending on the level of depression she was
facing. It was not a great outlook for her, as
mental health and mental illness in college
students was (and still is) not really talked
about. The stigma associated with youth
mental health was also a big barrier for Hailey
to try and climb over.
What really caught my attention was
when Hailey talked about her mom granting her three MHDs or " Mental Health Days "
per semester. These could be taken with no
questions asked (if she was still doing well in
school). Hailey soon began to use her mental
health days to catch up on reading and rest
and not worrying about school for the rest of
that day.

This TedTalk now had my full attention. It
spoke to me on a deep level as I learned more
about MHDs and my own student's needs.
At the conclusion of the TEDTalk, I was
convinced that all students should have
three mental health days per semester. I immediately revised my syllabi to reflect those
changes. These would not be just " days off "
for the students. On the contrary, the homework assignment that I would give them on
their day off would prove to be one of the
most difficult challenges many of the students would face during the semester. This
homework was not about reading extra textbook chapters or locating magazine articles
on management techniques.
Their homework was this: On the syl-

labus dates designated MHDs, from 1pm to
2pm, the students had to promise me that
they would do something for themselves for
that one hour. Our agreement was that they
could not fill that hour with other coursework or homework. They could read a book
or catch up on Netflix. They could draw, paint,
journal, play an instrument, or if needed, they
could use the hour to catch up on missed
sleep. I asked them to be accountable and to
write me a few sentences, such as a brief story about what they did and how it might have
affected them after the 60-minute session.
The most amazing feedback I receive is
always in these short paragraphs of homework. Over the past year, I have had a 100
percent response rate, and no one turns in
their homework late. They usually can't wait
to tell me what they did for themselves and

60 | THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY | WINTER 2021

how it made the made them feel inside after
the hour was up.
The most common response I get is,
" why haven't we done this sooner? "
Right around the middle of the second
week, I always try to find an opportunity to
tell the students a story that always catches
their attention. As I open up to the class
about my own journey with mental health,
the Zoom space becomes deafeningly silent.
The looks on their faces tell a million stories
in themselves. " Wait what?? You were diagnosed with anxiety and depression issues in
college? "
At this point I usually go into some additional details about my college time in therapy
and the doctor's decision to offer medications
to help me cope with daily life. As I conclude
my story, I look into the Zoom lens and into
the eyes of my students. There is a moment
when we both acknowledge silently what just
happened with this story. I leave myself vulnerable and exposed to them, and they get
an opportunity to look at their own issues and
relate to mine, knowing they are not alone
when it comes to facing issues of their own
mental health and well-being.
I share this philosophy and approach to
mental health discussions in the hope that my
fellow faculty colleagues will join me to help
our students thrive when it comes to their
mental health. I feel that many of us can do
better in recognizing when a student may be
reaching out for assistance, especially during the current uncertainty that accompanies
each day.
We all have the power to try and help
heal others in need. Now is the time to recognize that power within ourselves and extend a
hand whenever possible, and maybe consider
MHDs in your syllabus.
Jay Sheehan is production manager at the
School of Theatre, Television, and Film at San
Diego State University. In addition to teaching
stage management, production management
and live concert production, Sheehan also
oversees all aspects of production for the eight
show main stage and student production season. Sheehan is also the co-author, with Cary
Gillett, of The Production Manager's Toolkit.

Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2021

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