SEAHO Report - Fall 2019 - 21

SEAHO Feature Articles
I Just Need a Minute:
Working in Student Affairs while Living with Mental Illness
Ryan McKeel, University of North Carolina Greensboro
Please note that this piece includes discussion on mental health, including Anxiety, Depression, and PTSD.
Continue reading as comfortable.
In our modern age of student affairs, it appears that more and more professionals are willing to include, in both
their training sessions and work practices, discussions that explore how students living with mental illness are
impacted in residential communities. We must remember, though, that these factors impact our staff members,
too.
As student affairs and residence life administrators and educators, we must ask ourselves: are we prepared
to support both students AND staff members that are impacted by mental illness? How can we advocate for
ourselves, our staff and team, and our students while understanding that their invisible struggle might be
affecting how they show up in a space, all without stigmatizing or stereotyping their experience?
As a graduate student who lives with severe Chronic Depression, Clinical Anxiety, and PTSD, I have gathered
observations from my time as both an undergraduate student in leadership roles, including the RA position, and
through my time in my first semester as a housing staff member in the graduate assistant role in a residence life
setting.
Be Mindful of your Language
Easier said than done, right? Here is where we could talk about empathy, people-first language, and countless
other incredibly helpful and insightful discussion points, and yet it can be said even simpler: be mindful of your
words, and acknowledge how they can be both helpful and harmful.
As you might have noticed by now, I am comfortable with using particular terms and identify as having
a mental illness, and I also categorize my journey with mental illness as an internal struggle. If someone
approaches you and voices to you that this category of wording and language is offensive, harmful, or otherwise
not used in their vocabulary when talking about their journey and experiences, honor that.
On a larger scale, try to avoid using common phrases like "That is so crazy!" or "This is insane!" because those
words stigmatize and ridicule the entire existence of individuals, and they are, quite frankly, ghost words; they
don't mean anything. Think about it - no medical professional is going to diagnose a patient as "crazy" because
they know and acknowledge that the word has no value or merit, and will not aid the treatment process.
Don't Ask, Don't Share, and Don't Assume
If a staff member wants you to know that they live with a mental illness, they will tell you - simple as that. In
that same breath, just because they have shared that piece of their journey with you does not mean that they
would like or need for you to share their story. As previously mentioned, their story is their own to share, and,
just like they chose to share with you, let them choose with whomever else they would like to share.
With all of that in mind, leave whatever preconceived notions you may have about mental health at the door,
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SEAHO Report Fall 2019
SEAHO Report - Fall 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEAHO Report - Fall 2019
