As daily lives are disrupted, research has shown that there is currently an increase in distress in Americans across the country. Physically and socially distanced from those they care about, many find themselves struggling with maintaining their mental health amidst an unprecedented pandemic.
In March 2020, Lily Cornell Silver SC ’22 was struggling with similar issues. The Claremont campuses had just closed, and like many of her fellow students, she was struggling with her abrupt departure from the colleges — as well as a looming fear of the growing pandemic. Just like businesses and schools around her, she turned to online resources for help but found them lacking.
So, she decided to take matters into her own hands and create the resource she wanted: a video series on Instagram’s IGTV called “Mind Wide Open,” dedicated to destigmatizing mental health topics. “I wanted to create an accessible platform to talk about mental health with people who really know what they’re talking about,” Silver explained. The show, hosted on her personal Instagram account, currently has over 64,000 followers.
The series, which is also available on YouTube and as a podcast, is a weekly interview series where Silver discusses mental health topics with a different guest every week. Silver considers diversity of guests to be an important aspect of the series, so guests range from mental health experts to pop culture figures to her peers. Former guests on the show have included Eddie Vedder of the band Pearl Jam; Robin Stern, Ph.D, author and co-developer of the RULER approach to social and emotional learning; and Duff McKagan of the band Guns N’ Roses.
“[Students] don’t have mental health resources outside of the college community, so they’re seeking that from the college community. If not easily accessible, the last thing a depressed person wants to do is jump through a million hoops and fill out a bunch of paperwork and try to figure out, ‘How can I get help?’” Silver said.
“I want people who are watching it to be able to find someone in the series that they can relate to, that they can look at and think, ‘That’s been my experience, and it’s really helpful to see somebody talking about that,’” Silver said.
Silver’s own encounters with mental health have played a large role in her life and decision to create the series. She has struggled with anxiety and depression and lost a best friend to suicide in high school before losing her dad, Chris Cornell of the bands Soundgarden and Audioslave, to suicide in 2017.
“[Because] my dad was a musician, there was a big public element to my grief, which is very unique,” Silver said. “It can be frustrating at times, but transitioning into the mindset of ‘This is something I can use to help other people because I am in such a unique position’ has been more healing than anything.”
The show is hosted primarily on Instagram, which has helped it reach a younger demographic. While the series is a resource for everyone, the tilt towards younger viewers is deliberate. This was inspired in part by Silver’s experiences with the accessibility of mental health resources at college campuses, including the 5Cs.
“[Students] don’t have mental health resources outside of the college community, so they’re seeking that from the college community. If not easily accessible, the last thing a depressed person wants to do is jump through a million hoops and fill out a bunch of paperwork and try to figure out, ‘How can I get help?’” Silver said.
Mental health among the younger generations is something Silver discusses in detail in one of her personal favorite episodes, episode eight: The Kids Are Alright. She talks with six of her peers about their generation’s experiences with mental health.
“We [discuss] how we have this burden to shoulder of the world crumbling, and we have to take care of ourselves and fix everything going on around us systemically,” Silver said. “I would recommend [the episode] for anyone who’s reading this if they want to watch an episode. I think it speaks pretty directly to our generation and our experience.”
Dr. Ursula Whiteside, a licensed clinical psychologist at the University of Washington and guest on episode nine of the series, appreciated the collaborative feeling of the show.
“I like the idea that it’s focused around an identity and an identity of a community, that this is not just a show but also a community that she’s hoping to create. That was particularly appealing. And then just the openness at which these issues are talked about both for people personally and then with experts in their own right,” Whiteside said. “It doesn’t have to be something super fancy. It’s well-done and well-produced, but sometimes starting with something simple in order to get going makes the most sense.”
The series has received positive feedback from viewers of all ages and professions. Silver has valued all of the responses but has found a special joy in connecting with younger viewers of the series.
“Honestly, the most meaningful responses I’ve gotten have been from younger people or kids [my] age who have said, ‘This is something I really, really needed to hear,’ because I know what that feels like,” Silver said.
Mind Wide Open releases a new episode every Monday at 9:00 a.m. PST. To view Mind Wide Open, find it on Instagram @lilycornellsilver, or visit mindwideopenproject.com.