PostSecretU gives students a chance to share

Students will have the chance to write their secrets on postcards for PostSecretU (photo courtesy of GMU Active Minds).

PostSecretU, a public art project hosted by Mason's Active Minds, will allow students to spill their secrets anonymously in a creative way.

Starting  Nov. 12, students can pick up postcards from the Active Minds kiosk in the JC, Counseling and Psychological Services, Sexual Assault Services and the neighborhood desks. According to the event's Facebook page, students can decorate the postcards with “secrets, regrets, fears, desires, hopes, dreams, hidden acts of kindness, talents and confessions.”

PostSecretU is modeled after a blog and community art project called PostSecret created by Frank Warren. Since being displayed in public art events and popular media, the project has been duplicated on several college campuses across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. PostSecret was “adopted by Active Minds as an official program...this is something that Active Minds uses to talk about the stigma around mental health,” said Emily Mann, co-president of GMU's Active Minds.

From Nov. 23- Nov. 30, the post cards will be on display in the JC in Room 116.

“We're hoping this is a pretty powerful visual representation of the silence that keeps people from seeking help,” Mann said.

The week-long display will end in a workshop and book reading from clinical psychologist Dr. Rahimeh Andalibian, or Dr. A, according to the Facebook page. Mann explained that Dr. A is a specialist in group therapy and international therapy. This workshop is meant to reach a diverse audience.

“People who might have had difficulty adjusting to living in America or who have immigrant stories might relate to this and have something to share,” Mann said. 

“[The workshop] will hopefully encourage people to share stories that have kept them hostage in the past,” Mann said.

Last year, Mason's Active Minds held a fashion show in association with Love Your Body week, a project also similar to PostSecretU, where students were encouraged to write positive messages about body image on sticky notes that were displayed outside the Campus Computer Store. Since registering with Active Mind's national offices in 2011, the chapter has “grown considerably,” Mann said.

Active Minds Inc. is a nonprofit mental health advocacy group for reducing the stigma around mental illness, according to Mann.

“[Active Minds] encourages peer education and awareness events to change the conversation about mental health,” Mann said. According to their website, activeminds.org, college chapters of Active Minds act as a “liason between students and the mental health community.”

Mason's chapter was founded by Katy Weigel with the help of the honors college faculty after she experienced a semester of severe stress, according to Mann. Weigel “didn’t feel like there was a lot of support for students going through the same thing,” Mann said.

Active Minds is not a place to seek treatment, however.

“We are an understanding community and we're a good place to go if you need resources to get help,” Mann said.

“We hope [PostSecretU] is also a statement that if you are struggling with stress or a mental disorder ... or you know someone who is, that you are not alone,” Mann said, “That is the biggest message that we want to send out to people. You do not have to battle this alone.”

For more information visit GMU's Active Minds Facebook page.