WEBVTT

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When I was a kid,

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my mom and I made this deal.

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I was allowed to take three
mental health rest days every semester

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as long as I continued
to do well in school.

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This was because I started
my mental health journey

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when I was only six years old.

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I was always what my grade-school teachers
would call "a worrier,"

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but later on we found out
that I have trauma-induced anxiety

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and clinical depression.

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This made growing up pretty hard.

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I was worried about a lot of things
that other kids weren't,

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and school got really
overwhelming sometimes.

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This resulted in a lot of breakdowns,

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panic attacks --

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sometimes I was super productive,

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and other days
I couldn't get anything done.

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This was all happening during a time

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when mental health
wasn't being talked about

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as much as it is now,

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especially youth mental health.

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Some semesters I used
all of those rest days to the fullest.

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Others, I didn't need any at all.

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But the fact that they
were always an option

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is what kept me a happy,
healthy and successful student.

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Now I'm using those skills
that I learned as a kid

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to help other students
with mental health challenges.

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I'm here today to offer you some insight
into the world of teenage mental health:

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what's going on, how did we get here
and what can we do?

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But first you need to understand

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that while not everyone has
a diagnosed mental illness like I do,

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absolutely everyone --

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all of you have mental health.

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All of us have a brain
that needs to be cared for

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in similar ways that we care
for our physical well-being.

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Our head and our body are connected
by much more than just our neck after all.

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Mental illness even manifests itself
in some physical ways,

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such as nausea, headaches,
fatigue and shortness of breath.

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So since mental health affects all of us,

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shouldn't we be coming up with solutions
that are accessible to all of us?

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That brings me to my second
part of my story.

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When I was in high school

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I had gotten pretty good
at managing my own mental health.

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I was a successful student,

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and I was president of the Oregon
Association of Student Councils.

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But it was around this time
that I began to realize

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mental health was much a bigger problem
than just for me personally.

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Unfortunately, my hometown
was touched by multiple suicides

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during my first year in high school.

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I saw those tragedies
shake our entire community,

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and as the president of a statewide group,

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I began hearing more and more stories

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from students where this had
also happened in their town.

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So in 2018 at our annual summer camp,

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we held a forum with about
100 high school students

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to discuss teenage mental health.

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What could we do?

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We approached this conversation
with an enormous amount of empathy

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and honesty,

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and the results were astounding.

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What struck me the most

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was that every single one
of my peers had a story

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about a mental health
crisis in their school,

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no matter if they were
from a tiny town in eastern Oregon

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or the very heart of Portland.

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This was happening everywhere.

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We even did some research,

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and we found out that suicide
is the second leading cause of death

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for youth ages 10 to 24 in Oregon.

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The second leading cause.

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We knew we had to do something.

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So over the next few months,

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we made a committee called
Students for a Healthy Oregon,

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and we set out to end the stigma
against mental health.

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We also wanted to prioritize
mental health in schools.

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With the help of some lobbyists
and a few mental health professionals,

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we put forth House Bill 2191.

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This bill allows students to take
mental health days off from school

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the same way you would
a physical health day.

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Because oftentimes that day off

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is the difference between
feeling a whole lot better

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and a whole lot worse --

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kind of like those days my mom
gave me when I was younger.

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So over the next few months,

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we lobbied and researched
and campaigned for our bill,

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and in June of 2019
it was finally signed into law.

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(Applause and cheers)

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This was a groundbreaking moment
for Oregon students.

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Here's an example
of how this is playing out now.

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Let's say a student
is having a really hard month.

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They're overwhelmed, overworked,

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they're falling behind in school,
and they know they need help.

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Maybe they've never talked about
mental health with their parents before,

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but now they have a law on their side
to help initiate that conversation.

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The parent still needs to be the one
to call the school and excuse the absence,

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so it's not like
it's a free pass for the kids,

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but most importantly,

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now that school has that absence
recorded as a mental health day,

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so they can keep track

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of just how many students
take how many mental health days.

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If a student takes too many,

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they'll be referred
to the school counselor for a check-in.

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This is important because we can
catch students who are struggling

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before it's too late.

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One of the main things we heard
at that forum in 2018

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is that oftentimes stepping forward
and getting help is the hardest step.

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We're hoping that this law
can help with that.

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This not only will start teaching kids
young how to take care of themselves

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and practice self-care
and stress management,

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but it could also literally save lives.

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Now students from multiple other states
are also trying to pass these laws.

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I'm currently working with students
in both California and Colorado

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to do the same,

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because we believe
that students everywhere

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deserve a chance to feel better.

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Aside from all the practical
reasons and technicalities,

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House Bill 2191 is really special
because of the core concept behind it:

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that physical and mental health
are equal and should be treated as such.

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In fact, they're connected.

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Take health care for example.

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Think about CPR.

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If you were put in a situation
where you had to administer CPR,

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would you know at least
a little bit of what to do?

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Think to yourself --

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most likely yes because CPR trainings
are offered in most schools, workplaces

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and even online.

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We even have songs that go with it.

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But how about mental health care?

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I know I was trained in CPR
in my seventh-grade health class.

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What if I was trained in seventh grade
how to manage my mental health

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or how to respond
to a mental health crisis?

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I'd love to see a world
where each of us has a toolkit of skills

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to help a friend, coworker, family member

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or even stranger going through
a mental health crisis.

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And these resources should be
especially available in schools

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because that's where students
are struggling the most.

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The other concept that I sincerely hope
you take with you today

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is that it is always OK to not be OK,

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and it is always OK to take a break.

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It doesn't have to be a whole day;

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sometimes that's not realistic.

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But it can be a few moments here and there
to check in with yourself.

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Think of life like a race ...

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like a long-distance race.

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If you sprint in the very beginning
you're going to get burnt out.

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You may even hurt yourself
from pushing too hard.

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But if you pace yourself,

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if you take it slow,
sometimes intentionally,

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and you push yourself other times,

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you are sure to be way more successful.

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So please,

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look after each other,

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look after the kids 
and teens in your life

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especially the ones that look
like they have it all together.

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Mental health challenges
are not going away,

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but as a society,

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we can learn how to manage them
by looking after one another.

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And look after yourself, too.

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As my mom would say,

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"Once in a while, take a break."

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Thank you.

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(Applause)