During the follow up lunch meeting, Ross Szabo discussed mental health with the Sources of Strength club and other community members. Staff photo: Kaitlyn Tom.

By Kaitlyn Tom

On Monday Nov. 7, Ross Szabo, CEO of the Human Power Project and author of “Behind Happy Faces,” spoke at community meeting to promote the importance of mental health. Shortly after, there was a follow-up lunch discussion.

Szabo shared his personal story of being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression within a year of each other, and he stressed the importance of asking for help when something seems off. “Your mental health is as important as your physical health,” Szabo said during community meeting.

During the lunch discussion, the topic of when to help others was discussed at length. “If you ever see a major change in someone’s life, you should check in,” Szabo said. “It’s better to have an angry friend that’s alive than not have a friend anymore.”

Students appreciated Szabo’s unromanticized view of mental health. “[Szabo] gave a really realistic view towards mental health. […] He was very true towards it because of past experiences. He was really able to show us what the best way to cope with it was,” junior Agna Patel said.

“To be diagnosed with a mental disorder is a harrowing reality for some,” freshman Griffin Thomas said.

Additionally, Szabo’s personal story inspired students. “The way that he was able to go there and talk about it [was inspirational. He] set an example of how we can really be open and really show our true selves and how that can actually be a good thing,” sophomore Walter Li said.

Thomas agrees. “It’s easy to talk about mental illness from an outsider’s view, but to hear it from a guy who actually has to deal with a mental disorder was incredible to listen to and think about,” Thomas said.

While most students liked the speaker, some students thought that the discussion could’ve been more effective and personal if it were done in smaller group settings. “I liked his rhetoric and liked the way he talked, but the subject matter I felt was weird [to talk about] as […] a whole school community. Something like mental illness could be talked about in smaller groups, like […] advocacy,” junior Aidan Israelski said.

Students are using Szabo’s personal story as a message to focus more on mental health. “We should really take more time to focus on our inner state rather than our outer selves,” Israelski said.

Overall, students appreciated this community meeting’s speaker and are holding Szabo’s words of wisdom as inspiration.