On Sept. 28th, Lake Land College’s (LLC) Student Activity Board (SAB) welcomed Mental Health Advocate, Abraham Sculley.

Abraham Sculley suffered from depression in college, but he grew up with the mentality that depression makes you weak. However, his close friend advised him to start seeing a therapist, which made him realize that the negative view on mental health he had learned was a lie. 

As he finished college and got a degree in psychology, he developed “Speak 2 Inspire.” He now goes to nationwide colleges and organizations to speak about mental health and the stigma surrounding it. 

During his lecture, he asks many questions that he has those in the audience answer. These questions included, “Do you have trusted people?”, “What do you do to help yourself calm down?” and “How many of you have heard lies about mental health?” 

He continued to talk about how depression affected him and how he noticed it in people. He goes over the signs of mental health issues, how to deal with them, and what to do if people around you are dealing with mental health issues. He also mentions different coping strategies, such as writing in a journal. 

He has his audience participate by writing out their feelings, then writing out who you would talk to and then a time to speak to them. He uses this method to make sure that he talks to someone.

Overall, Sculley hopes to stop these untold lies told to people about mental health and get the word out that it is okay to struggle and get help. 

If you or anyone you know needs assistance, LLC students can reach out to counseling services, Better Minds or any trusted adult.