Thursday, January 28, 2021

Before it's too late: a Waterloo student shares her mental health story

This content is presented as part of Bell Let's Talk Day. The article was originally published on Waterloo News.

Avonae Gentles thought everything was under control. 

A busy third-year Faculty of Health student, Gentles was juggling multiple responsibilities when her family was dealt an unexpected blow — her father’s diagnosis with lung cancer. 

“He never smoked [a day] in his life, he’s been a vegetarian for the last 30 years — he was the pinnacle of health,” Gentles says. “Then to find out it had spread to his liver … everything just came crashing down.” 

With her father now off work and her mother solely supporting the family, Gentles took on a part-time job while continuing to manage volunteer and school work full-time. With midterms and assignments on the horizon, stress levels were mounting.  

The turning point, Gentles says, was when she was sitting in Waterloo’s Science and Technology Complex (STC) reviewing cue cards and her vision became blurred with tears. 

“I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t until I had reached that point where it was almost too much that I started to say, ‘well, I need support,’” Gentles recalls. “That was the only option left, and that’s when I started looking to see what’s available to me. What is the most immediate care that I can get?” 

Contacting Campus Wellness, Gentles was relieved to secure an appointment within minutes of her call. That in-person session turned into follow-up phone calls once the pandemic hit. 

“If I hadn’t been able to speak with someone that day, in that moment, I don’t know what would have happened.” 

Letting her experience be a lesson to others 

One year later, Gentles says she feels fortunate to be able to share her mental health story with others. Recognizing days like Bell Let’s Talk, Gentles is using her experience as the catalyst to speak up. 

“We keep everything packed up. We don’t talk about it or think that it’s real. But, with events like Bell Let’s Talk, you realize there’s actually a community of people going through the exact same thing,” Gentles says. “And what that presents you with is an opportunity to hold each other up, create a stronger foundation and move past each day as a community rather than an individual.” 

According to Statistics Canada, Canadians have reported a decrease in their mental health since the pandemic. Youth aged 15 to 24 reported the greatest decline in their mental health, from 60 per cent reporting positive mental health (pre-COVID) to 40 per cent during the pandemic (July 2020). 

“The data speaks for itself,” says Walter Mittelstaedt, director of Campus Wellness. “It’s for these reasons that Campus Wellness has continued to proactively pivot and polish our services. No one, especially right now, should go without the support they need. This pandemic can feel especially isolating, and we want faculty, staff and students to know our community is ready to help.” 

The road to recovery 

For Gentles, working on her mental health remains a top priority, even when she feels fine.  

This shift in mindset has allowed her to continue focusing on her future goals, which is to pursue medical school where she can focus on female health and female reproductive health for marginalized communities. 

“I feel so fortunate that I can share this experience with those around me,” Gentles says. “You don’t have to maintain a strong exterior. You don’t have to maintain any form of strength because being strong isn’t what makes your mental health ‘good.’ It’s about being resilient and coming back to better understand yourself and your limits.” 

Students, faculty and staff can benefit from Campus Wellness services by visiting their website. If you are in crisis or worried about hurting yourself or others, call 911.  

Empower Me, Mental Health Resources can be accessed outside of regular office hours at 1-833-628-5589, where counseling is available via phone, video and in-person 24 hours a day, seven days a week and across twenty-two countries. 

From mommy blues to a deal with a Dragon

This content is presented as part of Bell Let's Talk Day. This article was originally published on Waterloo News.

Sarah Cheng (BAFM ’08, MAcc ’09) stepped into the Dragons’ Den with her five-year-old daughter while eight months pregnant. The Waterloo alumnus pitched her small business, Bluish, and ended up striking a deal from Canadian investor Arlene Dickinson.  

Cheng’s entrepreneurial journey started with the birth of her first child, Summer, and with her second child on the way, she took the leap to leave her day job as an accountant to pursue her venture full-time. Her impactful story and beautifully crafted tutus touched Dickinson who saw Cheng’s venture as much more than an apparel company, but rather a platform for women to share their stories of new motherhood and postpartum depression (PPD) without guilt or judgement.  

Strong is the new pretty

The “Baby Blues” or feelings of sadness, sometimes reaching severe levels and diagnosed as postpartum depression or postnatal depression, is experienced by 80 per cent of all mothers and Cheng was one of them. Knowing that she had many reasons to be happy, Cheng reflects that “I was at a loss in how to manage my feelings of sadness and how to connect with my newborn.” She found that small, simple things like dressing herself and her daughter in matching tulle skirts gave her joy and reprieve from the rollercoaster of emotions she was experiencing. This simple act turned into the founding of Bluish. 

“Through my personal journey in successfully managing the baby blues and then launching Bluish four years ago, my venture morphed into a larger narrative in providing a platform for women to share stories of strength, resilience and growth,” Cheng says. “Bluish is no longer just an online store selling matching tutus for mothers and daughters. It’s become a place where women are celebrated for the strength and resilience they demonstrate in the face of adversity — whether that be experiencing PPD, the loss of a husband or an eating disorder. Bluish means to be stronger than your blues.”  

Dragon Dickinson related to Cheng’s story and noted that her venture is “capitalism with heart, where storytelling is your product.” Since pitching to the Dragons, Dickinson’s team has provided invaluable advice to Cheng in broadening the scope of her venture to look ahead at what’s possible in growing the business. 

Leveraging SAF degrees to build a business

When Cheng started Bluish, she was on maternity leave — a challenge all on its own.  

Navigating the obstacles of parenthood, a growing business and managing the baby blues often felt overwhelming, but Cheng attributes her resilience to the knowledge she gained as an AFM and MAcc student, “because of what I learned at Waterloo, financial literacy, looking at numbers and simplifying complexity, came naturally,” Cheng says. “Accounting takes a lot of skill and understanding of what you’re dealing with and with Bluish, I found myself being able to apply those skills.”  

Her entrepreneurial success and pitching to the Dragons required Cheng to draw from the skills she also gained as a co-op student and from participating in extra-curriculars.  

“All of that training I feel has also prepared me very well and in particular for the Dragons Den pitch, especially because Bluish has been so personal for me,” Cheng recounts. “Past co-op experiences, meeting with and presenting to CFOs, managers and clients have provided perspective to help me remain calm under pressure,” which ultimately helped Cheng to successfully create a provocative narrative that sold on Dragons Den. 

As Cheng looks ahead, she reflects on the generosity of the people and the relationships she’s made throughout her journey who have helped her launch Bluish.  

“Whether it’s Dragons’ Den or another opportunity that pushes you and challenges whether the status quo is where you want to go and if that’s the right direction for your business, any kind of opportunity that does that is beneficial as an entrepreneur.” 

Some news about Waterloo News

University Relations is pleased to announce a new Waterloo News website combining the former Waterloo News and Waterloo Stories websites. This new site provides a single platform for sharing news from across the University. We’re actively working with faculty communications teams to provide a comprehensive look at the research, learning and work happing at Waterloo.

The new Waterloo News site includes all the historical news and stories from the previous sites and redirects have been put in place to ensure existing links will continue to take readers to their intended story.

Connect with the Digital Communications team if you have any questions about the new website.

Thursday's notes

The deadline for applying to the Writing and Communication Centre's Speak like a Scholar workshop is fast approaching. "Apply to Speak like a Scholar to develop your scholarly voice and give confident, impactful academic presentations," says a note from WCC. "The program will guide you in learning the aspects of giving oral presentations in academia." The program runs from Monday, February 22 to Tuesday, March 2, 2021. Applications are due Friday, February 5 at 5:00 p.m.

This program is open to doctoral students only. Space in this workshop is limited, and participants will be selected based on their applications.

The next meeting of the University's Board of Governors will be held on Tuesday, February 2 via Microsoft Teams videoconference. "Guests are welcome to join the open session of the meeting similar to a normal "in-person" Board meeting," says a note from the Secretariat. "If you would like to attend the meeting as a guest observer, please contact Emily Schroeder to request to join the meeting. All requests must be received by Monday 1 February 2021 at 12:00 p.m."

The agenda is posted on the Board of Governors webpage.