As the semester comes to a close, there is a lot of stress among Stockton’s students, especially for those graduating this spring. With projects, presentations, exams, and other assignments piling up, students need a way to destress and distract themselves from the pressures of education. Stockton’s newly established Mental Health Advocacy Club is one of the many ways for students to kick back and momentarily forget about their studies, providing “positive distractions”, one of which was a Game Night held on Thursday, March 28th.

Members of the club brought lots of games to enjoy, from card games to video games. One member even had Super Smash Bros. available on a new Nintendo Switch, a game that is enjoyable to both beginners and regular players. Another group played the classic “Heads Up” game, bringing laughter and interesting charades to the room. Any newcomer to the club would feel perfectly comfortable and relaxed in the environment, enjoying free pizza and making new friends. The small group made it easy for everyone to socialize and not feel anxious about meeting a large group of people. In this room, no one was a stranger.

Holly Morrell, and President of the Mental Health Advocacy Club, commented, “Playing games is really a release of dopamine, it helps people come together, and enjoy your time together, and that’s the main point of mental health; you want a group to hang out with, to make friends. That’s why I thought this activity would be really good. We’re all coming together here.”

She commented that, even though most of the members present didn’t initially know each other, the games provided a great outlet for stress release and a way for the members to get to know each other and become friends. She is currently a sophomore studying Communications, but has always had a strong interest in Mental Health, which inspired her to start the Mental Health Advocacy Club. Morrell noticed that while Stockton had mental health resources and large clubs like Active Minds, there wasn’t a club just for students to discuss and improve their own mental health, which led her to create a smaller, more familiar club for students to visit and relax.

More information on the Mental Health Advocacy Club can be found here.