"We all have a mental health."

This is why it is so important to raise awareness that mental health is not a taboo or something we should not feel comfortable to talk about openly. We are all human and all of us experience emotions. Sometimes these emotions may be unpleasant, or we are not sure how to best manage them. Other times, we may be suffering silently with a mental illness which could be undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. It is these challenges which indicate that raising awareness for mental health and open discussion is fundamental for all of us. Together, we can work to overcome stigmatisation of mental health illnesses and also address our misconceptions of what good coping strategies look like. Importantly, there is always some to talk too if you are experiencing difficulty. I hope that you can feel comfortable talking to me.

My campaign:

I want to support all students at ARU and make your experience of university the best it can be. This includes supporting your mental wellbeing too. My overall aim is to campaign for positive changes within our student community and wider society regarding open mental health discussion. Some of my key focusses at ARU include:

• Training throughout the academic year for students to improve resilience, coping skills and address a healthy work-life balance.
• Addressing any areas of concern within the existing counselling and wellbeing services available to students. 
• Organising student talks from inspirational mental health ambassadors to help increase student motivation and tackle a variety of mental health concerns.
• Workshops designed to tackle some of the biggest challenges which affect student's mental health. Such as: relationships, body image, substance abuse, loneliness, anxiety, men's mental health and social media.
• Turning the language we use to discuss mental health into a positive. Mental health is often seen as a negative, but it is most defeinitely positive emotions too.

So far, our experience of university hasn't been typical. Learning online through a pandemic has increased challenges on building rapport with course mates, lecturers and making new friends. I will work with students to address solutions to these issues. I am open to new ideas and I will listen to yours. Things are getting better and I look forward to bringing positive updates to you.

My ARU:

I am Maddison and I am in my first year of two studying Primary Education at our Chelmsford Campus. I am a member of ARU's Volunteer Heroes and I am passionate about giving back to my community. In January, I was delighted to be awarded Community Volunteer of the Month. I am a Course Representative for Primary Education Studies. I am part of the Netball team (and hope to begin playing games once things reopen). I have signed up to be a Welcome Buddy for September 2021 intake. Most importantly, I am already doing my best to make sure no students voice goes unheard.