anonymous submission
Collage: Mental Health Literacy
Artist statement
When exploring and learning through module one, I kept asking myself how I would best represent this module for a response. After thinking about it for a while, I decided that artistic expression would be the best way for me to show what I learned throughout module 1.
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In this piece, I have included the words that describe each mental health state as it is important for people to know that it is ok to feel these emotions.
I included the triangle that represents the inter-relationship of the mental health states. Gaining knowledge on the different mental states and how a person can fluctuate from one state to another was something that stood out to me in this module. I have never thought of my mental health as being in different states when I was stressed or angry, before this module. The broccoli, avocado, weight, water bottle, and the heart with the beat represents health literacy. Health literacy focuses on lifestyles and improving personal health and focuses on improving your overall well-being. Module one also discusses mental health literacy which is helping others understand their mental health. I illustrated a person's mind with a puzzle piece almost fitting in to demonstrate that knowing how to obtain and maintain good mental health practices is one part of mental health literacy. The megaphone represents decreasing the stigma around mental health. The globe with the graduation cap, the pie chart, and the envelope represent understanding mental disorders and their treatments based on scientific evidence. The brain and the yellow heart represent improvement when knowing how and when to get help. I drew the checklist, the strong arm, the unlocked lock, and the speech bubble to represent mental health literacy of myself and my friends and family. I included these icons as they represent my experience with mental health literacy over the years.
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When looking at this piece there are many stories to tell. The viewer can see their own mental health journey or mine. I created this piece with past and future students in mind. Outlining health literacy within our classrooms is just one way we as educators can help decrease the stigma that is attached to mental health and mental illness within the school setting. Making our students aware and increasing literacy on mental health is part of my pedagogy and it should be a part of everyone's