Mental Health Awareness Beyond the Surface | Leah Wentnick | TEDxUniversityofDelaware

Описание: When people hear “mental health awareness,” they often think they know what it means. But what happens when awareness stops at the surface — when it ends at reposting on Instagram or tying a green ribbon into our hair?
Every eleven minutes, another life is lost to suicide. Forty-nine thousand people in a single year. These aren’t just statistics — they are individuals, stories, and futures that never had the chance to continue.
This talk goes beneath the surface to explore the moments when the mind becomes a dark, quiet place — when intrusive thoughts grow heavier, harder to fight, and impossible to ignore. Through a deeply personal journey, it examines where real suicide prevention begins — and why it starts with honest, uncomfortable, life-changing conversations. Because none of us can save someone, but our words can help them save themselves.
Awareness alone is not enough. It’s time to move beyond it — to confront fear, embrace discomfort, and make compassion the new norm.
eah Wentnick is a junior at the University of Delaware, double majoring in Psychology and Public Policy. As an Honors student, Leah brings her passion for storytelling and advocacy into every space she enters — from leading campus tours as the Recruitment Coordinator for the Blue Hen Ambassadors to fostering sisterhood and engaging in philanthropy through Alpha Epsilon Phi.

Based on her own lived experience, Leah has spent years advocating for mental health awareness and suicide prevention. She has worked with national organizations including Bring Change to Mind, The Hidden Opponent and NAMI NJ, and volunteers locally with Sean’s House, a mental health safe haven on campus. Through these efforts, she has become a compassionate and urgent voice for young people facing mental health challenges. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx