Mental health is a serious topic that many people are apprehensive to discuss. It is prominent in our generation, and society is slowly working its way towards recognizing the importance of mental health. In order to further understand mental illnesses, we interviewed one of the co-presidents of the Mental Health Alliance, Maggie Kornfiend, on her take on mental health issues and how to cope with them. 

Healthy coping mechanisms are key to feeling better and addressing an illness. Though it might take time and patience to find what works for each individual, finding the right coping methods can heavily impact moods. Maggie mentioned that the first step that you can take towards coping is talking about it with someone that you feel safe with and addressing that it is an issue. Keeping feelings in can make one feel isolated. Some simple activities to help cope can be going outside to get fresh air, moving from an environment that is causing stress, exercise, which can help you reset, and washing your face. 

On a broader scale, the words “mental illness” need to be destigmatized in the community. Maggie says, “mental health is a part of everyone, and every situation in life is going to bring some emotional response. That’s super common and it’s really healthy to address the issue and to overcome it. Mental illness is a valid issue that came from a place where someone was having a really hard time that’s really significant, when you put labels, such as ‘not capable,’ it prevents people from getting the help they need because they feel so ashamed.”