To Write Love on her Arms works to combat mental illness
Silently battling with a mental illness can take a toll on both a person’s mind and body. For Lake Village, Ind. senior Misty Gonzalez, it’s all about breaking the stigma.
To Write Love On Her Arms at CMU is a branch of a national organization devoted to finding resources for people who are suffering from a mental illness such as depression, self-injury, thoughts of suicide and addiction. Gonzalez stressed the importance of having this RSO on Central’s campus and how it can help students that are struggling.
“Personally, I’ve dealt with a lot of the things we deal with,” Gonzalez said. “Even if I hadn’t, it’s something I’m really passionate about. I’ve realized that a lot of people deal with these things and that it’s not something that people really just get over and they do need people to support them.”
As president of the group, Gonzalez focuses on helping others and gaining members for the organization. Becoming well known on campus is one of her hopes, she said.
“The best part is knowing that I am making a difference,” Gonzalez said. “Sometimes it’s hard and it feels like no one really cares, but there will be like one or two people who come up to you and say that you really do make a difference and that they love coming to us. That’s what I do it for. As long as it helps one person, that’s all that really matters.”
Each meeting focuses on a different mental illnesses, ranging from anxiety to eating disorders. Finding resources for students who are struggling is the main goal of the organization, but it isn’t a support group, Gonzalez said.
“We’re not a counseling center,” she said. “But we do the best we can in helping people find the right resources. At meetings, we provide more in-depth information. We talk about where to find help, statistics and breaking the stigma on mental illnesses. It’s OK to talk about things here, it makes things less scary.”
Being a part of the RSO allows treasurer and Powers senior Lucas Kleiman express himself. Most of all, it lets him help others.
“I just personally have dealt with a lot of things in my life,” Kleiman said. “Also I’ve always been one who is very outgoing and helpful and so I like to help people through things, whether it’s good or bad.”
Having the RSO on campus can help raise awareness on mental illness. Having someone there for support is crucial when struggling, Kleiman said.
“(The group) can bring awareness to campus and let everyone know that they’re not alone,” he said. “It’s important to know that there is someone there to help you get down the right path.”
Attending Warped Tour and seeing their group represented as a national organization sparked secretary and Sandusky junior Lindsay Ball’s interest.
“My safari leader mentioned the group to me as a freshman and then I just started going to meetings because I had heard about them at Warped Tour,” Ball said. “I liked what they stood for, I know people who have dealt with some of those issues. I’ve dealt with some of those issues, so I’ve grown to be really passionate about it.”
Seeing the group grow on campus is what motivates Ball’s participation in the group.
“My favorite part is going to meetings and seeing new faces, especially at the beginning of the semester,” she said. “Recruiting helps getting new people and shows that our efforts are working and we see that we are growing.”
One activity that TWLOHA gets students involved in is Fears vs. Dreams. Holding up a white board, one side asks, "what’s your biggest fear?" and the other asks, "what’s your biggest dream?"
“You hold up the white board and take a picture and see how both sides are related sometimes,” Ball said. “We did it last year and we got a ton of new people to do it.”
Joining an organization at CMU has been a challenge for member and Grandville junior Kaity Doyle. After hearing about To Write Love On Her Arms in the eighth grade, she has been drawn to the issues that the group covers.
“I have been trying to find an RSO to join for awhile,” Doyle said. “I was looking through OrgSync and I found (this). I was really drawn to it because I had dealt with some of the issues that it talks about. After my first meeting I was like 'yeah, I’m definitely going to keep going.' I love it. The meetings are very informational, everybody is super nice and welcoming.”
To Write Love On Her Arms meets at 8 p.m. Tuesday nights in Anspach Hall 166.
