San José State's Bridge Club hosted a Generation Z Mental Health discussion on therapy Tuesday night in the Student Union.
Sabrina Nabizada, political science senior and Bridge president, asked club members a variety of mental health questions.
Mental Health can be defined as a person's emotional, psychological, and social well-being, according to the Centers for Disease and Control page.
“Mental Health tends to have a negative connotation because there's a lot of misinformation on the topic,” Nabizada said.
She said there isn't enough research done on mental health and it’s ignored by doctors and the media and it gets sidetracked away.
“When people suffer from illness there’s no outlook or anywhere else for them to go to resolve their issues and get the help they need,” Nabizada said.
She added that society tends to have a negative outlook on men's mental health which she believes should be addressed more in detail..
“Men are expected to be strong, the household leader, and are expected to not show emotions because emotions have been linked to a sign of weakness which is not true at all,” Nabizada said.
Nabizada said that in her opinion, showing emotion is a sign that you are emotionally strong and you are in tune with what you are feeling.
“It depends on the household you grew up in when it comes to mental health,” she said.
Nabizada said one of the most important topics talked about in the discussion is how the media plays into mental health. She said it is a bigger issue than most people think.
“I grew up in an immigrant household and I feel mental health was a topic that wasn't talked about and I feel like it's because my parents genuinely didn’t know about mental health,” Nabizada said.
Kishen Mann, a political science junior and member of the club said discussions help people stay up to date on the political issues and cultural issues in the U.S.
“It gives people a good chance to speak their minds but it's important to stay on top of these topics and be informed,” Mann said.
Mann said different cultures are very fiscally strict and wary of mental health services because there are examples where people overcharge therapy so they are wary of new things.
“It takes time for people to understand and trust,” Mann said. “There needs to be a precedent to prove that it’s legit.”
Mann said the environment of your mental health can be based on your ethnicity or whether you grew up in a more homogeneous area or not.
“I think mental health has a negative connotation because it's derived as a Western philosophy so, naturally, colonized cultures have a hesitation towards mental health,” Mann said.
Mann said mental health is not talked about in schools enough because it is a very touchy topic and people need to have a certain level of maturity to listen to each other's experiences.
“The high school I went to, I wouldn't say they had that level of maturity,” Mann said.
Director of events and political science junior Gisela Corona-Torrez said she thinks mental health is neglected because of years of generational trauma.
“I think that it's very evident that conversations are like a bridge,” Corona-Torrez said. “We feel comfortable enough to have a group of 30 people come out here talking about it.”
Corona-Torrez said mental health is often neglected because of intersectionality.
She said that through a person’s upbringing, people are often taught implicit biases that are hard to shake off. But she said people can take control and decide to change their biases and have different opinions on how important mental health is to them.
“I think mental health is an epidemic we tend to ignore in the past,” Corona-Torrez said.
She said a mental health class is not being taught yet at SJSU, but she’s hopeful that having more of these conversations will bring more awareness to the issue.
“People can benefit a lot from mental services including myself,” Corona-Torrez said. “I think it is always good to have a professional I can talk to and help me through difficult times.”.
Corona-Torrez said if an individual is hesitant to get help for their mental health, it can be challenging to break through certain barriers but all it takes is a first step.
“I think it's great even starting with conversations like this with Bridge,” Corona-Torrez said. “I think it’s important that even Gen Z is having these conversations.”
