Taylor Hennings
A Woodland High School graduate capped off her career in the Girl Scouts with a project taking a look into mental health with a video telling the true stories of people coping with a range of disorders.
Taylor Hennings, a 2018 WHS graduate and currently an Eastern Washington University social work major, created “Let’s talk about mental health,” a 15-minute video featuring stories of mental health disorders including depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), generalized anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The video was part of a Gold Award project, the highest accolade attainable by Girl Scouts.
Prior to taking on the project, Hennings was looking at a career path in the mental health field, with her project serving as an exploration into the industry. Her goal was to bring awareness to an often-overlooked side of health that she felt was important in order for those with the disorders to be successful in life.
For the video’s actors, Hennings recruited WHS drama club students. She sourced the stories from real-life accounts she found online — personal stories of the struggles faced by those with the different disorders.
Hennings said she picked depression and anxiety first given how common they were. She picked OCD and bipolar disorder as she felt they were both prevalent and relatively not talked about, and selected PTSD given that although there was much attention paid to those in the military with the disorder, the other ways it could develop were less a focus.
In one story, someone with bipolar disorder describes the highs and lows of the condition, from “feeling like a god” to wanting to withdraw from the world entirely. Another spoke of PTSD resulting from verbal abuse as a child, with echoes of being called worthless being heard through teenage years leading to self-harm.
Hennings said the whole project took a little under a year from the idea to a complete video. Through the process, she noted that her suspicions were confirmed — mental health isn’t a topic many people are familiar with.
“When I was explaining my project, they were really curious and wanted to know more afterward,” Hennings said. “I was surprised with how much people actually didn’t know.”
Hennings presented the video to WHS students at the end of her senior year. Though she noted the expected apathy from some students, Hennings pointed to much support from school staff and students as well. A survey following the viewing further backed up the impact.
Though she still wants to be an advocate for mental health, through the project Hennings’ aim shifted from strictly the medical side into a career toward social work, mentioning Child Protective Services as a potential avenue of employment.
“The mental health (component) is still there, but I won’t be sitting in an office with them; I’ll be more active,” Hennings said.
