The Santa Rosa Junior College PEERS Coalition will be holding “Well-Being Wednesday,” a themed mental health discussion and workshop on the 2nd Wednesday of each month this Spring semester.

The first of these workshops was held on Feb. 10 with self-love and care as the central theme.

Hosting the event was SRJC PEERS Supervisor Jeane Erlenborn, joined by SRJC students Milton Contreras-Medina, Jocelyn Toscano, Maria Arreguin and Sameer Shah.

Contreras-Medina, a 22-year-old pre-med biology major, began the discussion with a focus on Valentine’s Day and how it can be a joyous holiday for some, but for others it can be mentally taxing regardless of whether they are in a relationship or not.

“We should be aware of the fact that Valentine’s Day tends to also bring negative side effects mentally, that can be for example, stress, anxiety, pressure,” Contreras-Medina said.

While Valentine’s Day was a major point of discussion, the event concluded with Contreras-Medina asking the audience to say three things they love about themselves to stress the importance of self-love.

According to Toscano, a 21-year-old nursing major, the idea for Well-Being Wednesday came from Shah, 21, another nursing student, as a response to students not being able to communicate with their instructors in-person during the Fall 2020 semester, in another Student Health Services event called, “Tuesday Tea-Time.”

Erlenborn expressed the importance of events like Well-Being Wednesday, especially with the psychological stress the COVID-19 pandemic presents.

“We know students are struggling with depression, anxiety and isolation and even if not a lot of students come, every time we have had really good conversations,” Erlenborn said.

Well-Being Wednesdays will be held with a different theme every 2nd Tuesday of the month this Spring semester with the next meeting being held on March 10.

Students can go to shs.santarosa.edu or call (707)527-4445 for more Student Health Services resources.