Mental Health Education Annual Scholarship

Listen to the body and keep the energies flowing
by Julianne...

This essay is about creating and maintaining health with Acupuncture, listening to the body, self-inquiry, yoga, and breath work and creating community.

Why I am Stronger Because of My Epilepsy
by Rahimah ...

I have struggled with epilepsy for the last 5 years. My condition is triggered by lack of a stable mental state, lack of sleep, exposure to stress and more. Thus, since being diagnosed with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy, I have had to restructure my life so that my mental health comes first to prevent my seizures or epileptic episodes. Because I had to learn how to advocate for myself as a patient, I am a more effective advocate now as a law student and future attorney. My epilepsy is my secret power.

How can we have a better World?
by Yalda Sh...

A healthy world needs healthy individuals, for it we need a healthy government and for this to be created we will need politicians who have lived a healthy life with an acceptable level of mental well-being, those who care about different layers of their society, from teenagers, kids, to seniors and the ones who are in financial need and are suffering from hardships in their life, they need to be aware of the important factors of social justice, as well as willing to play that in the country. This is a key to achieve a society that has acquired acceptable living standards to produce individuals who will then put their best efforts towards following the humanistic goals of their leaders, these are the ones who are proud of their country, society, government, and finally themselves. So-called society might be a Utopia in its mentioned format, but if we make wise choices when choosing our politicians, then at least we don’t owe our children and the next generation. On the other hand, what we have faced so far in our educational system, have all been about running competition among students, achieving higher marks. If it’s for the benefit of learning subjects, which could be interpreted as positive, having said that this is mostly to the benefit of growing the soul of committing individuals against each other, this doesn’t remain in the educational system, the individual will carry this to his/ her personal life and hence to the next generation. These attributions need to be reviewed in our educational systems, that being said countries like Sweden or Japan as well as Canada and the US have made a lot of improvements towards the mentioned topic, which has resulted in major amendments in their educational systems. Hopefully, this will continue in developing countries as well. Another factor that plays an important role in shaping a healthy society is the mental health services that should available to all the individuals equally, currently, this service is not covered by any health insurance in any country except Sweden and Germany. We hope medical insurance will review its priorities in many countries. Mental health comes along and before physical health, a mentally unhealthy person will end up being physically unhealthy. Consequently, many foundations of the current societies need to be reviewed and hence amended for a better future.

Mental Health Continuum
by Cheryl S...

I work as a psychiatric nurse at a naval hospital caring for the very under-served patient population which encompasses addiction and a host of mental health challenges. My goal for higher education and providing the highest level of compassionate patient care has been ongoing. I am dedicated to work towards my MSN degree so I may better support the underserved mental health populations in hopes to decrease suicides. Studies show, that patients who are provided with patient education become more involved in their patient care. In turn, these patients are more in tune with their own mental health and care needs and engage in their treatment plans which serve better outcomes for them. With so much diversity and change in the world, I believe more than ever that mental health support is at the forefront for most, specifically those with greater challenges such as PTSD, addiction and chronic pain. My family, husband, and daughter are fully supportive of my decision to pursue higher learning at Western Governors University and I believe I am an excellent candidate for a scholarship, as someone with a great moral character that can represent this scholarship and the eligibility requirements. I thank you in advance for your consideration. Very Respectfully, Cheryl Shepard, BSN, RN-BC, PHN