Sleep deprivation, alcohol abuse, excessive stress -- all hallmarks of the college experience?
Actually, they are only a few of the many causes and symptoms of mental health problems that affect countless college students across the country every year.
And one group of Penn students is determined to raise awareness.
The group, called Active Minds, "wants to change the culture regarding mental health," according to its president, College senior Taylor Terkel.
"I don't think there's a single student who doesn't know someone or isn't himself affected" by mental health problems, she says.
For many involved with the group, the issues are personal.
Former Penn student Alison Malmon, who graduated last spring from the College, founded Active Minds -- originally named Open Minds -- after her brother, who suffered from schizophrenia, committed suicide.
Malmon is now trying to make Active Minds a national organization. Currently, the group has chapters at Tufts University, Georgetown University, the Oregon Institute of Technology and Penn.
Unlike other mental health resources on campus, Active Minds is dedicated to promoting advocacy and education on the topic, rather than serving as a counseling service.
At Penn, Active Minds has been instrumental in coordinating the Office of Health Education's Mental Health Awareness Week, which is held in October of each year.
The group is also planning a number of outreach and educational activities this semester.
Its annual fundraising run, "Taking Steps Toward Open Minds," is scheduled for April 4. The two-mile run usually attracts over 200 participants, who compete for prizes and raffle drawings.
In addition, Active Minds members will attend a conference on campus mental health issues at Georgetown in March.
The organization hosts a high-profile speaker every spring and is bringing Los Angeles Times manager Tom Johnson to campus this year.
Past speakers have included author Lizzie Simon and Princeton professor Leon Rosenberg.
On the horizon for the group is publishing a regular journal that will contain original poems, essays and drawings submitted by anyone at the University with an interest in mental health.
Active Minds Vice President and College senior Jamie Diaz says that the group is working to secure alumni support with publicity in The Pennsylvania Gazette.
"We need funding," she explains. "We have a limited budget."
In the meantime, Active Minds is concentrating on its educational initiatives.
Terkel and Diaz recently represented the organization at a panel discussion called "Epinephrine, Dopamine, Serotonin and Your GPA."
Attendees expressed dismay that many students and faculty are unaware of the support options available to them in times of need.
The event, part of the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education's Education Week, was co-sponsored by SCUE and the Office of Health Education.
Terkel reported that Active Minds is working with SCUE to raise awareness among faculty regarding students' mental health problems.
"The faculty's been a hard group to access," she says. Residential advisers and graduate associates "have been more receptive."
Terkel also stressed Active Minds' commitment to "deconstructing" the stigma associated with mental health problems, which she said contributes to reluctance in seeking needed help.
Also in attendance at the panel was Associate Director of the Office of Health Education Kate Ward-Gaus, who emphasized the importance of intervention in high-stress situations.
"Severe stress, gone unchecked, is a precursor to mental health problems," she says, noting that Penn students have reported twice as many "not so good" days as the national average for the age group.
After the event, Ward-Gaus had nothing but kind words for the group.
"I'm fascinated by them," she says. "The fact that there's a group of students out there making noise about [this issue] is pretty courageous."
"I think they're going to achieve their goals."
