Ross Szabo came to campus last Wednesday to speak for the "Fear No People" lecture series sponsored by Residential Life.

Szabo aimed to diminish the stigma given to people with mental illness.

Szabo, a survivor of mental illness, was able to connect with students as he explained mental illness and told his personal story.

"I learned a lot," said Maria Valdivieso, junior, Elisabeth, N.J., "I learned that no one is perfect. You can't judge someone by looking at them because something could be bothering them inside."

Szabo, an all-American-looking young man, told students that you couldn't tell if someone has a mental illness just by looking at them. They are amongst the school population and many people will never know.

Szabo suffered from mental illness throughout his life. He was exposed to it early on at the age of 11 when his brother first suffered from manic depression.

By the time Szabo was 16 he also fell victim to manic depression and while in high school he tried to commit suicide.

Szabo explained that he had trouble dealing with emotion as many people do.

"People think talking about emotion makes them weak," said Szabo, "The earlier we learn how to deal with thoughts and emotion, the better off we will be."

Szabo received treatment throughout high school and then into college, but he wanted to make a point to say that medicine doesn't heal mental illness.

"The [medicines] lift and stabilize your mood so you can fix the problem," said Szabo, "Your brain is just as much a part of your body as anything else."

Szabo went on to explain that walking on crutches after breaking a leg does not heal the leg, it just changes the circumstances so you can work on healing it.

"Our brains react the same way through physical pain as they do during mental pain," said Szabo, "The only difference is with physical pain you can identify the cause."

Szabo relapsed into manic depression, also known as bipolar disorder, when he was in college. He was forced to leave college twice before he graduated. He began to mask his problem by using alcohol and it only pulled him further from reality.

"People use drugs, drink and hurt themselves to hide from their problems," said Szabo.

There is no single treatment for mental illness that works for every person.

"Everyone needs to find what works best for them," said Szabo.

The lecture was designed to inform students about mental illness, help them to identify it and learn how to approach it.

"Society has blurred the line between depression and being depressed," said Szabo, "Everyone feels depressed sometimes."

"You don't choose to have a mental disorder, but you can make a choice to deal with it," said Szabo.

Ross Szabo graduated from American University in Washington D.C. with a degree in Psychology. Currently, he is the Director of Youth Outreach for the National Mental Health Awareness Campaign.

"It's important for everyone to hear," said Heather Fumiatti, freshman, Rocky Hill. "It's important for college students because they are experiencing many changes."

About 200 students attended including Sacred Heart's Resident Assistants, students in the Personal Development Plan, an academic plan that students can earn one credit by enrolling in, as well as other interested students.

"I thought it was great. I thought he was very personable, very humane," said Sam Cerami, freshman, Mahwah, N.J.

Szabo's personality was delightful and seemed to break the stigmas people have about mental illness.

If you are interested in learning more you can visit nostigma.org and in a few months whattriggersyou.com will be open to educate the public on mental illness.