On Wednesday February 26, Dr. Lisa Damour visited Mercy to give a presentation about mental health and common misconceptions among well-being for teenage girls. All Mercy students were called to the auditorium for this assembly, and they left with more understanding about their mental health.
“I thought that having someone who has both a professional outlook on mental health, and can also be empathic with kids our age really helped put a new perspective on how to manage stress, mental health, and how to not feel as scared about it,” sophomore Kate Gallant said.
Dr. Damour helped Mercy students realize that mental health isn’t just feeling happy all the time. She emphasized that what is most important is having an appropriate reaction to a situation and figuring out the most effective ways for you to cope.
She had Mercy girls propose ideas that would make for a very bad day, then to describe ways to cope with the intense emotions that the stressful situations brought.
“I thought she was really good, I liked the bad day game she played, it was very engaging,” senior Audrey Callahan said.
Even Mercy staff was impressed by the engagement that Dr. Damour drew from all of the students.
“Overall, I thought that assembly went well,” Mrs. Andrea Kowalyk said. “I thought that she was really interactive with the students, which I liked. I felt like instead of being talked at, you’re being talking with.”
The staff also appreciated the way she was able to connect and communicate with students.
“It was a very engaging presentation and it was really nice that everyone got to participate,” Mrs. Julie Earle said. “She validated a lot of feelings, which I think is important for all students to hear.”
She also gave a short background into her own educational journey and career path, using her own experiences to relate to students in the audience.
“It was entertaining and interesting learning about her career path,” sophomore Ava Skrabut said.
In a time when student stress levels run high, Damour highlighted the importance of proper mental health practices, aiding in making Mercy a safer and healthier environment for all students.
“I felt that she did a really good job appealing to us as students and wasn’t talking down to us,” junior Abby Bores said. “She was really impressive.”