People are dumping ice water on their heads again, but this time, it’s not for ALS awareness. All across social media platforms, teens are nominating each other to raise awareness for the #SpeakYourMIND challenge by dumping ice-cold water on their heads.
The #SpeakYourMIND challenge is run by The Mental Illness Needs Discussion (MIND) club, which originated by Wade Jefferson. He had lost multiple friends to suicide and decided to raise awareness about it by creating a challenge to make talking about mental health a more normalized topic.
Mental health is a prominent talking point at WHS because of its relevance to our students. “It just is really important to raise awareness about being real because people need to take mental health more seriously,” said Anna Franks.
When mental health is good at a school, it not only boosts morale but also engagement with school and peers. Moriah Mental Health states, “Students with positive mental health are more likely to perform well in their studies and participate actively in class.” It can also lower a student’s performance when they’re playing sports or working at their jobs.
Students at Wyoming have begun participating in this trend after they are chosen by their friends. Then, they have to be filmed choosing two or more of their friends and getting ice water dumped on them. This video is then posted onto any social media platform (typically Instagram or TikTok) where they will then tag their nominees. The nominees have 24 hours to do this to themselves and then nominate their own friends.
People are skeptical, however, if this trend will have a lasting impact on the topic of mental health and the people who participated in this. “It’s not going to last, the trend was around a few years ago. Next week, people will have forgotten about it,” Mr. Cornell stated.
While others are still hopeful that this trend will continue and inspire people to donate and raise awareness. “I think the trend will go on,” said Vanessa Gonzalez-Rodriguez. “Even if people are not donating, they are still spreading awareness by participating.”
If you or a loved one is looking for mental health resources or help, call 988 or speak to someone you trust. Even our fellow students are aware that it’s important that you talk to people if you need help. Joseph Awator mentioned, “If somebody needs someone to talk to, they shouldn’t be afraid to talk to someone.” Let’s create a more inclusive and safe atmosphere for our fellow peers.