University of Lethbridge entrepreneurs launch mental health awareness campaign

For Gregory Robinson, mental health matters.

“As a grad student, I’ve had very tough times,” he said.

The University of Lethbridge PhD student is far from alone.

According to Statistics Canada, the prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder alone has doubled in the last decade.

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“It’s a ripple effect,” he said.

That ripple effect inspired Robinson, founder of Mycos Biotech, to launch the #MycosMentalHealth campaign.

“We don’t want to just talk about that we have problems with mental health, we want to talk about how we can improve our mental health,” said Robinson.

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Two other U of L student-made companies — Urban Dropout, and Litty Love — joined Mycos for the campaign’s launch during Mental Illness Awareness Week.

Students are approached on campus and asked to write their favourite method of mental health improvement on a chalkboard, take a photo, post it to social media and use #MycosMentalHealth.

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When students post their photos, they’ll be entered into a monthly draw to win a prize from each company. Mycos donated $500 to start a scholarship fund, and is hoping for funding from the University of Lethbridge and the province.

Mark Slomp, executive director of student services at the U of L, said having students talk to each other is valuable to help normalize some of these experiences.

“Pairing that with a message of hope that there are things that you can do to improve your well-being and the quality of your life — that’s a very powerful message,” said Slomp.

“It’s been really cool to see everyone’s different coping mechanisms for their mental health,” said Cole Childrey, co-owner of Urban Dropout.

The campaign has heard some unique remedies.

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“We had one guy come up to us and said ‘I like being grounded, I like taking off my socks and standing in the grass and just being grounded in the earth,’” said Jaxon Doram, co-owner of Urban Dropout.

Childrey said the response has been great so far and students seem to be open to sharing their strategies.

“Nine times out of 10 they’re like ‘Absolutely, we need more of that,’” said Childrey.

The team hopes to partner with other universities in the province and will be bringing their chalkboard to campuses across Canada and the U.S.