Mental health is like an iceberg

By Rini Sampath ‘16

I love the analogy that success is like an iceberg — you only see 5-10% of what goes on, but rarely see the labors beneath the surface. I think the same goes for mental health.

Mental health and who we are as people is like an iceberg. Social media captures 5-10% of what goes on, but others rarely see the rest of our lived experiences.

Last Monday was one of the happiest days of my life. I got to speak to nearly 5000 people, including Steven Spielberg, who was sitting in the audience during my convocation speech. Seated next to Vice Provost Ainsley Carry and Trustee Carol Fox, I was overcome with emotion when our alma mater started playing and I realized this was my last year at USC.

Photo by Mariya Dondonyan 

Convocation meant a lot to me. As the first of my extended family to attend college in the United States, opportunities like that, where I get to speak to thousands of incredibly talented students, are priceless. I won’t ever forget the incredible high of convocation, or seeing how overjoyed my father was after hearing me speak. On the phone, he explained to me how one of the first English films he ever watched was Close Encounters of the Third Kind (named “Skylabs” in rural India) as a young man in high school. My dad told me how much he connected with the young boy in the movie, and how the five-note music sequence in the film left a lasting impression on him.

This story provided wonderful context to why it was so meaningful for my father to then sit near one of his childhood idols and the mastermind behind Close Encounters, Steven Spielberg, in the audience of convocation, and hear me speak. After getting off the phone with my dad, I couldn’t help but shed some tears when I realized the gravity of it all.

These happy moments make college so wonderful. But, this doesn’t mean students like you and me don’t go through hardships. If success is like an iceberg, so is mental health.

The days following convocation were filled with anxiety for me. Those who have anxiety know what this feels like and I probably don’t have to do much explaining on how frustrating it can be. 

But, many of us don’t talk about these moments which lie below the surface level. At a school as bright and beautiful as USC, it’s easy to get carried away in thinking our peers have it all: The great boyfriend, the great job, the great car, the great social life, etc. etc. etc. 

In reality, what we portray on social media or in a passing conversation is a mere fraction of who we all really are  Whether it is our academic, personal or professional lives, these aspects impact how we feel on a daily basis. 

As Trojans, it’s so important to be there for one another, break down the stigma associated with mental health, and push for a campus that is safe and inclusive for our peers. As our USG members have voiced this year, there are many components which affect mental health: our sexual orientation, gender identity, sexual assault, race, religion, and more. Tackling the intersectionality of mental health is one of the goals of our Academic Culture Assembly Director, Hannah Nguyen, who is programming numerous activities to break down the stigma associated with mental health in the coming months.

Most recently, my Vice President, Jordan, and I met with Hannah and our Director of Wellness Affairs, Christine Hasrouni, to gameplan our approach to mental health for the year.

Both Christine and Hannah are amazing advocates for health and wellness. 

Hannah brought up the need for counselors in the cultural centers on campus, in order for Trojans of varying backgrounds to have easier and more comfortable access to spaces where they can seek professional help.

Many cultures, like my own, tend to stigmatize mental health: Talking about depression or anxiety or disorders such as OCD aren’t common in communities of color. For more information on how mental health affects APA/API communities, the National Alliance on Mental Health provides great facts and statistics. 

As we look into more solutions for Trojan family faced with these problems, I keep in mind what Jordan has said to me about mental health: It’s okay not to be okay. It’s okay to ask for help when you are feeling down. It’s okay to talk to someone about how you are actually feeling. It’s okay to be imperfect.

Through USG advocacy work and a partnership with the counseling center, Engemann Health Center recently hired six counselors to decrease wait times for students. Decreased wait times, which used to be nearly 7 weeks for some, will guarantee students receive attentive care in a prompt manner.

Increasing the number of counselors at the health center isn’t the end of our advocacy work. We have more to do. In the meantime, I’m going to remember to take it easy at times during the year, lend a helping hand to my peers, and talk more openly about what I go through as a student. I hope you will do the same.

Make a counseling appointment here

1 (800) 273-8255
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline