Maggie O’Neill

Dr. Daigle

FYOS

3 December 2019

Final Reflection

When I first signed up for Youth Mental Health First Aid, I was so incredibly excited to

take this class. I feel like I have had so many friends and family who have struggled with mental

illness, and I have had a lack of understanding and capability to help them. When I was thirteen

years old, my cousin killed herself, leaving behind five children and a husband and leaving all of

us in shock. This woman was the sweetest person you could ever meet, an excellent mother, and

the woman I was named after. Her death was a tragedy to us all, and I don’t feel like anyone was

prepared for it. It has crossed my mind several times over the years that Margaret might have

been saved if someone had been able to recognize that she was struggling and get her the help

she needed. After taking your FYOS, I feel equipped to recognize some of the signs and

symptoms of the most common mental illnesses, and I believe I could be able to use the ALGEE

action plan in order to help someone who is struggling or is in a crisis situation.

Examining the different steps of the ALGEE action plan has been really beneficial for me

in knowing where to start when approaching someone who I fear may be struggling with their

mental health. Before I was not really sure where to begin. I was worried that breaching the topic

of mental health with someone who could be struggling would be detrimental. After listening to

Kevin Hines’ story though and hearing him say that he would have told someone had they asked,

I realized it was important to be able to talk to people about mental illness, and that by avoiding
the conversation, I am only stigmatizing it more. Therefore, I have made a conceited effort since

beginning the class to be more normalized to the conversation of mental health.

The part of the ALGEE action plan that I have found most important and easy to utilize

in my daily life is the “L” for listening nonjudgmentally. We should listen nonjudgmentally to all

of our friends, regardless of whether or not they may struggle with mental health. The hardest

part of the ALGEE action plan for me is the first “E” for encouraging professional help. I think

of myself as a very polite and nonconfrontational person, and the thought of telling someone that

they should consider seeking help from a professional in regard to their mental health is scary for

me. This same fear comes up again when considering asking someone straight up, “Are you

thinking of killing yourself?” This is such an enormous and scary question, and it makes me

uncomfortable even thinking about a scenario in which I asked someone that. I know, however,

that my comfort is not as important as being able to reach a person who is struggling with

someone, which is why I have been working on being able to say these kinds of things to people.

I thought the most impactful and inspiring part of the class was the series of video stories

about Kevin Hines. It is easy to talk about mental health and how it affects someone and how to

see some of their signs and symptoms, but just reading about it and talking about it out of a

manual makes it feel really rigid and cold. Being able to see and hear a real person talk about

their struggle and how it affected them was very humanizing and made me understand more of

the impact mental health can have on those who struggle. Taking this course has made me more

understanding and more empathetic, and I feel like I am prepared to use everything I have

learned to help out people in need. Thanks for a great semester! 