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Titan Outdoors helps students find adventure in nature LILY LOPEZ Editor
Outdoor trips offered by Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Outdoors allow students, members and guests to temporarily step away from their studies and digital screens for a day of exploring the woods, desert, mountains or Southern California ocean. Titan Outdoors offers in-person trips such as stand-up paddleboarding, beginner-friendly backpacking trips near the Angeles National Forest, camping in the Sequoia National Forest, rock climbing and camping in Death Valley National Park. Michael Brown, the rock wall and outdoor adventure coordinator, said he was hired over three years ago to start Titan Outdoors. “What keeps people coming back is the friendships and the connections that they make,” Brown said. The trips allow participants to disconnect and step away from their phones for about two hours or longer, he said. “We talk a little bit about having a digital detox on our trips. A lot of the places that we go don’t even have cell phone service at all,” Brown said. “It really helps people kind of put that away and live in the moment for a little bit, and even if it’s a one-day trip to reset your brain, a lot of people have been finding a lot of excitement in that.” They have also had the opportunity to go outside but still be with people and not worry about the pandemic as much, Brown said. “We might run into a group of two or three other people while we’re up there. But it’s basically just going to be us
and we’re going to be out in the middle of the woods and that’s not where COVID is, so we can kind of relax and have some fun,” Brown said. He added that the program has many international students who join the trips, which allows them to visit different areas of California. “There’s a lot to see and a lot of international students don’t have the opportunity with transportation and even renting, they don’t have driver’s license and stuff like that, so being able to jump on with our trips, meet people, get off campus and go see these amazing places, I like to see a lot of people taking advantage of it,” Brown said. Caber Russell, a CSUF alumnus who majored in theater arts, said he worked with Titan Outdoors for two semesters. He said he had the opportunity to go on a few trips during one of those semesters before the program moved online due to the pandemic. He said these excursions help participants get away for even just a day or a weekend when things get busy in everyday life. They allow you to focus on yourself, feed yourself, stay hydrated and enjoy nature at a slower pace away from technology, Russell added. “It’s definitely a great break and a great experience to get away for even just a day or a weekend,” Russell said. “I feel like people get too much screen time and just being able to put the phones down and get away from the computer for a weekend is a great experience everyone should have.” This semester, due to the recent warm weather, Brown said they have had a lot of stand-up paddleboard trips, including full-moon trips where
participants will begin at sunset and paddle as the sun is setting and the moon is rising at night. Titan Outdoors recently had their first backpacking trip of the semester, Brown said, which was one night of introductory backpacking to give experience to those interested in backpacking but have never done it previously. “That was a lot of fun because a lot of the people that went on that got really excited about it and are actually going on our longer trip this weekend,” Brown said. All future trips listed on the Associated Students website offer pricing for students, members and guests. Brown said the trips include gear, transportation, trip leaders that have wilderness first aid certifications and all recreation entrance fees to the forests and national parks.
“The overnight trips also include food. So that price is basically you just pay it, and then you come with your clothes and a smile, and then you leave with a bigger smile,” Brown said. He added that the program also rents out their camping and hiking gear for students who want to go on personal trips. “We help out your personal trips, stuff like that, so we try to be really accessible and make sure everybody has opportunities to get outside whether it’s with us or other people,” Brown said. Gear rental forms found on the Associated Students website can be filled out for individuals who need equipment for their outdoor adventure. Students and members have the option of renting gear out for four or nine days, and each piece of equipment has an
individual price depending on the length of the rental. “I think that if you’re hesitant about going outside, going backpacking for your first time, it’s a really great safe space for students to learn how to backpack, what gear to bring. They provide all the gear for you, so you really don’t have to worry about the headache of purchasing all the gear,” Russell said. So far, Brown said that the program has been pretty popular this semester as every single trip has been booked and many of them have had a waiting list. After they finish their trip on the drive back home, Brown said participants begin thinking about what trip to go on next. “They’re all just really excited and amped on it, trying to figure out what other trips they can go on,” Brown said.
Titan Outdoors participants pose in front of the Hollywood sign on a past hike. (Titan Outdoors)
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Column: How to keep your relationship happy and healthy JAMES JOSLYN Staff Writer
If done right, romantic relationships can be helpful in boosting a person’s mental well-being, but can do the opposite if done wrong. It has been long established that relationships have the power to improve both physical and mental health, according to the American Psychological Association. Communication is the foundation that will make or break
a relationship. A lack of dialogue can cause suppressed emotions that can negatively impact mental health and lead to conflict within the relationship. Having solid communicationcan address conflict in a productive manner and help the connections between people, according to Behavioral Health Evolution. Having someone you can share your thoughts and feelings with can be therapeutic, but communication isn’t just about talking. Listening is just
as important. You must actively listen to your partner. People want to be heard and feel like what they say matters. It’s important to give all of your attention to your partner when they are speaking and take time away from everyday life to not only listen to your partner, but actively participate in the conversations that they introduce. One of the most important purposes of communication in a relationship is to solve conflict. Repetitive conflict creates
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JAMES JOSLYN
stress that can negatively affect the health and well-being of both you and your partner, according to Verywell Mind. Conflict is inevitable in every relationship, but there are healthy ways to deal with conflict in a respectful manner to achieve a positive outcome. Arguments are also a normal part of any relationship, but sometimes someone can get worked up to the point where you use words to hurt their partner rather than to fix the issue. When in the midst of an argument, it’s important to be honest with yourself and decide whether your comments are tailored toward resolving the conflict or if they are hurtful, according to WebMD. If you are blaming the other person or trying to be purposely hurtful with your comments, WebMD suggests to take a deep breath, and then change your strategy. In some cases, productive conflict can actually be healthy for relationships. If done right, a resolved conflict will create a new understanding between partners. However, it is important to be empathetic toward your partner’s feelings in order to achieve this. Even if you feel that your partner is wrong, it is important to listen and try to understand their point of view. Even if you don’t agree with your partner at first, listening to their argument can open the door for new understandings and more insight into their emotional well-being. Finding balance is essential to happiness and mental well-being. This also applies to relationships. You don’t want a relationship to consume your life to
the point where you lose your sense of self. According to Psychology Today, a healthy relationship has individuality and boundaries, and “it’s important that each partner is given the freedom to still live their own life, especially in terms of friendships, professional goals and hobbies.” A person’s individuality should be celebrated in a relationship. To have a healthy balance in a relationship, partners must be able to depend on each other for mutual support without losing their individuality. One of the best ways to maintain a healthy relationship is by setting boundaries. Healthy boundaries can help enhance your mental health and emotional well-being, build self esteem and gain a greater sense of identity, according to WebMD. It can be taxing on one’s mental health to constantly do things they are uncomfortable with. Setting boundaries that are respected by your partner can ease stress and help maintain a healthy balance in a relationship. Maintaining a healthy relationship is not easy to do as it requires hard work from both partners, but the payoff can yield invaluable results for one’s mental well-being. Healthy relationships help improve lifespan, deal with stress better and have healthier habits, according to PsychAlive. Every relationship will have its hardships, but as long as you continue to work together to improve, a healthy relationship and all of its benefits is achievable for anyone.
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Tips to protect mental health online Participation on social media requires active mindfulness. JESSICA CHOI Editor
With social media platforms taking over the world, it’s hard to avoid people’s highlight reels where they display seemingly perfect lives filled with beautiful faces, toned bodies and endless vacations. But the truth is that the false reality which social media presents can make it a dangerous and unpleasant place for some. A recent investigation by the Wall Street Journal, called the “Facebook Files,” proved that Instagram knows that the platform is toxic to young users, especially teenage girls, and their overall mental health. For many social media users, they face a difficult choice. They can either participate on
social media to stay connected even when it’s harmful to their well-being, or they can leave its toxic cycle. Finding a healthy method of use on social media can be difficult; however, there are some tips you can use to gain control of your digital consumption. Follow and engage with accounts that make you feel good. It sounds simple, but curating your social media feed to a completely healthy experience can be a continuous work-in-progress. Finding accounts that genuinely inspire, entertain or make you happy without having any negative feelings is not always easy. You have to mindfully choose who to follow and what to engage with, paying specific attention to how it makes you feel. There may be people or organizations that you follow
because of prior relationships you may have had with them, even if their content makes you feel insecure or uneasy — it is OK to unfollow accounts you feel uncomfortable with. If something makes you feel insecure, influences you to act dishonestly or encourages unhealthy habits, taking action to leave it behind will help to curate a healthier social media feed. Set app time limits on your device. This is a straightforward approach to managing your mental health on social media. Sometimes, spending less time on platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat is all you really need. For some, social media may be overwhelming due to over-exposure. It can also be difficult to peel your eyes away and break the hypnotic effect of endless scrolling, so setting limits on screen time will
actually keep you off the app. On both Apple and Android devices there is an option to set time limits on certain apps. On iPhones you can set a time limit through Settings and Screen Time. On Android phones this can be done through Settings and Digital Wellbeing & Parental cControls. Turn off the like count on posts. Instagram has recently incorporated the option for users to hide their like count and hide the like count of other user’s posts. This feature was put in place to help reduce the pressure of social media and for people to have the choice of controlling more of their experience on the platform. To hide likes of other Instagram users,go to Settings, then Posts and turn on the Hide Like and View Count option. There is also an option to
hide like counts on your own posts; once you have created a post, go to Advanced Settings and turn on Hide Like and View Counts on This Post and it will hide likes to other users. Practice mindfulness. Social media shows off only a small fraction of someone’s reality, so comparing yourself to what other users post is common. However, reminding yourself that social media exhibits the best parts of people’s lives and that this display is not always reality will help to ease the insecurity that arises from comparison. It is easy to get sucked into the allure of a false, perfect reality that is highlighted on social media. It was designed to be addictive, but staying aware while participating on these platforms is vital for a healthy experience.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY EDER RAMIREZ
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Column: Misinformation surrounding psychiatric medicine hinders recovery for people of color NOLLYANNE DELACRUZ Asst. Editor
My defining moment was when I was 16 years old and went to a psychologist for the first time. The psychologist formally evaluated my symptoms and dug to see if they could diagnose me with a mental illness or disorder. It was the darkest moment of my life and I got my answer: major depressive disorder paired with anxiety symptoms. Major depression, or clinical depression, plagued my youth. I only felt self-hatred, overwhelming guilt, shame and numbness to the point that I wished to disappear. At night, the anxiety of what horrors the next day would bring me kept me up. The toxic habits I had formed were not meant to keep me alive, they were meant to rattle me awake. The doctors brought up options such as electroconvulsive therapy and antidepressants to my parents. They were shocked and horrified at the prospect that their only daughter would transform into an apathetic, spiritless shadow of the smiling baby they raised. Despite the severity of my symptoms and a second opinion, my parents denied any treatment besides talk therapy. To me, it was the biggest mistake they ever made. The stigma against treating mental illness through psychiatric methods, such as medication, stands in the way of healing people of color. Antidepressants raise serotonin levels in the brain. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that typically exists in low quantities in depressed people. Even though long-term antidepressant use is common, doctors normally prescribe it for only
one year, allowing the patient to make the choice to continue it afterward. Ultimately, my parents had two reasons why they did not want me to get antidepressants. One of them was that they thought that it was addictive. Addiction to antidepressants is unlikely. What may happen is dependence, which are the withdrawal symptoms that come after going off antidepressants. When it comes to other psychiatric medications, addiction is also unlikely. The misinformation about addiction and psychiatric medication is damaging to people who have prescription medications for mental illnesses and for young people of color who may fear asking for help. The stigma toward mental health for people of color is a huge reason why medication has been villainized. There is a warped perception in many communities of color that mental illnesses are signs of spiritual and moral weakness or selfish uselessness, with medication being clear-cut evidence to those crimes. To my parents, a prescription of antidepressants symbolized that I was “crazy.” But, the lack of medication for people who need it encourages unhealthy coping mechanisms. I remember my mom encouraging me to get a summer job because according to her, if I was working, I wouldn’t have time to be depressed. However, I already had that work ethic. I already knew what it was like to accumulate academic accomplishments to hide how lonely and depraved of a person I thought I was. The way I was self-medicating neither improved nor soothed my mental health. It is also common for
GABRIELA MENDOZA / DAILY TITAN
teenagers with symptoms of depression or anxiety to self-medicate with alcohol or drugs, potentially setting them up for addiction in the future. I definitely thought about going down this path. I was in the mindset that I was already a problem, so it did not matter if I started drinking alcohol. However, destigmatizing mental illnesses and the medications that treat them can prevent adolescents from turning to substance abuse as a remedy. Even though I am in a significantly better place now than when I was 16, I still do not think I have achieved a satisfactory mental health
checkpoint, and not because I do not have a regular selfcare routine. There is only so much that cognitive therapy can fix. I wrapped up my identity in my depression and anxiety. I finally had a name to the soundless struggle that I had been fighting for most of my adolescence. But the stigma toward psychiatric medication stopped me from fully closing that chapter of my life. I know what it is like for white psychologists to invalidate my experiences and psychiatrists of color to repeat the same stigmas my parents have. The bias in psychology and psychiatry favoring
the Western European experience and perpetuating mental health stigmas for people of color is unfair. Mental health providers need to understand the unique struggles, experiences and stigmas that people of color face to correctly diagnose and treat them. As children of color, we have seen the effects of trauma and poor mental health in our own families. We might feel trapped by the stigmatizing comments from our elders about mental health. However, you are not betraying your culture or your family by asking for the guidance, or medication, that you deserve.
7 Green spaces are key to confronting mental issues
WEEK OF MONDAY, OCTOBER 11
MENTAL HEALTH GUIDE 2021
Increasing natural areas in urbanized communties improves adolescents’ moods. HUGO RIOS Asst. Editor
As technology advances, kids are living in an environment that provides endless entertainment and distractions with easy access in the comfort of their own living space. The consequences of this are damaging, especially to the mental health of developing youth. Implementing more public green space is key to establishing mental stability for blooming generations. Green spaces are open public spaces that are partially or completely covered by natural elements. This includes urban parks, forests, gardens and trees on the street. As urbanization continues to occur worldwide, projections from the United Nations Population Division suggest nearly ⅔ of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050. The inevitable transition from a rural to urban lifestyle is a byproduct of modernity. Still, repercussions of urbanization present in the form of increasing destabilization of the mental health of growing individuals. According to the World Health Organization, it is estimated that between 10% to 20%of the world’s population of children and adolescents have mental disorders and problems, with half of all illnesses beginning at the age of 14. As mental disorders persist in childrens’ lives, social anxiety disorder arises as an ever-growing concern. According to a study published by
VIVAN HAN / DAILY TITAN
the National Center for Biotechnology Information, 6% of children and 12% of adolescents are estimated to have social anxiety disorder. Research continues to expose the disastrous effects of modern living, but this should not shock anyone, as skepticism of technology negatively affecting children has become standard. The greater dilemma lies when people fail to understand that alternatives to one’s everyday routine are crucial in uplifting the mental health of younger people. In another study published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, continued research found that exposure to green spaces has positive effects on an adolescent’s mental health. The study states that “benefits include enhanced mental health and resilience, increased physical activity and
reduced risk of obesity.” Despite discoveries of how green spaces promote a healthier mindset, it is astonishing that the government has not played more of a role in maintaining current green spaces accessible to citizens. According to the California State Parks Foundation, current funding for public parks via the state’s budget is set to decrease by $70 million over two years, assuming budgeting for COVID-19 relief isn’t included in future federal funds. Funding in the form of user fees, which includes park fees, camping reservations and special events, has clearly been affected due to the pandemic. But adequately funding state and local parks is a step to ensuring people do not continue to trend backward in mental stability. It is worth noting the responsibility of parents or guardians
in establishing healthy habits amongst children that are growing. Ironically, the symbolism of suburban wealth translates to spiralling adolescent mental health. As American cities continue to grow out through suburban sprawls, access to city parks decreases. This is a problem for youth living on the outskirts of cities which should be addressed by city councils throughout the country. Evidently, the psychology behind urban areas implementing colors outside the different shades of gray that devour cityscapes is universal. Images of gray tend to create sadness or even feelings of depression, whereas colors like green are more soothing and associated with alleviating anxiety and nervousness. Adding more green spaces is only one solution to a generational crisis that will plague
many in the future. Today, it is understandable to give a child a tablet or other device that keeps them occupied while ensuring safety in the household. However, what is less forgivable is not grounding children in the importance of experiencing the outside world without the need for modern technology. Naturally, the curiosity and imagination of young children will take over as they are exposed to natural habitats. This balance is increasingly necessary for urban areas to contrast from indoor living. As climate change and urbanization will undoubtedly cause a struggle to implement healthier living environments, people must not lose sight of what is at stake. Ensuring mental stability in youth, as the world indefinitely evolves, is key to humanity’s success.
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