It can be difficult to have a conversation about mental health, whether it is about your own mental health, somebody else’s, or a whole group of people’s.

It may seem unfamiliar to try to talk about how you are mentally handling a situation like you would talk about your physical well-being.

Dale Arnold, a senior mass communications major, and Christopher Pugh, a doctoral education candidate, are working to model those types of discussions through their Georgia Southern radio show “Manhood Mindset”.

Talking it out

The two men host the radio show to support their fraternity, the Zeta Delta Delta chapter of Omega Psi Phi’s, “Brother, You’re on My Mind” initiative.

Pugh is the advisor for Zeta Delta Delta, while Arnold is one of the regular fraternity members and the manager for the GS radio station, WVGS. They have been doing the radio show for two-and-a-half years.

Pugh described the show as one that encourages people to talk about situations they are dealing with, particularly traumatic or isolating ones.

“What the fraternity is doing is taking the lead on encouraging men to say, ‘Hey, you’re not by yourself.’ You don’t have to tackle mental issues, or issues that attack your mentality, by yourself,” Pugh said.

The radio show covers a variety of topics, which are all related back to the impact those things can have on people’s minds.

“We go from anywhere from self-help, as it comes to mental health within your own self and loving yourself all the way to how that reflects what we see in media,” Arnold said.

Why conversations matter

Arnold clarified that he and Pugh are not looking to be someone’s doctor or tell them what to do about a certain situation.

“We’re taking the lead in showing people how to talk it out. The dialogue we have on the air, we encourage people to have those dialogues in their homes,” Arnold said.

During those conversations, the duo discuss their life experiences, how they feel about the experiences, how to get out of negative situations and what they learned along the way.

Another key part of “Manhood Mindset” is the anonymity. Listeners can email and ask questions.

“One of the things i feel like is effective of our show is not everyone can get to someone to talk to [about their issues]. Some people need their issues addressed with being anonymous at the same time,” Arnold said.

The takeaway

Arnold and Pugh have learned how to better address several life experiences through hosting “Manhood Mindset”.

Pugh shared his thoughts for college students who may be struggling with choosing a major.

“Just because you have a major doesn’t mean you’re going to dedicate the rest of your life to doing that. What you can do is be great at that, if you’re going to make a decision to choose that major,” Pugh said.

People are born to be great, not take up a particular major.

“Your major is something you choose to attain while attending college, ” Pugh said.

For Arnold, the radio show has actually helped him feel less isolated. While doing the show with Pugh, the two have opened up to each other about common situations they have experienced.

“I’m sitting here thinking like wow, I thought I was the only person in the world going through this, and he [Chris] just explained what he went through, how he got through it, and I have a new motivation to get through whatever I’m going through,” Arnold said.

The show has proved itself in some aspects to be therapy for the two hosts as well as their audience,

“I know I realized that when we’re ourselves, and we do what we think we need to do to make ourselves better people, people benefit regardless of what we have going on,” Pugh said.

“Manhood Mindset” airs on 91.9 the Buzz on Thursdays from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Listeners can also catch some of the radio show’s episodes on YouTube. If you have any questions you would like Pugh or Arnold to discuss on the show, you may contact them at zetadeltadelta@gmail.com.

Student resources

If you do need to get professional advice about a problem you are experiencing, you can use the following resources.

GS Counseling Center: 912-478-5541

GS Psychology Clinic: 912-478-1685

For online resources: http://students.georgiasouthern.edu/counseling/

http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/psychology-clinic/

http://recreation.georgiasouthern.edu/wellness/