Wellness club tackles men’s mental health at U of M

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After Vaibhav Varma lost his 16-year-old brother, Yash, to suicide in March 2023, he wanted to make sure others could get the mental health resources his brother didn’t have.

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After Vaibhav Varma lost his 16-year-old brother, Yash, to suicide in March 2023, he wanted to make sure others could get the mental health resources his brother didn’t have.

Varma started the Men’s Wellness Circle UM, a student-led club at the University of Manitoba, this month, to honour his brother and help struggling men.

“It’s to start conversations that I fear won’t be started,” Varma said Monday.

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
                                Vaibhav Varma, president and founder of Men’s Wellness Circle UM, a new student club at the University of Manitoba dedicated to supporting young men and their mental health and raising awareness about the stigmas men face when talking about mental health.

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS

Vaibhav Varma, president and founder of Men’s Wellness Circle UM, a new student club at the University of Manitoba dedicated to supporting young men and their mental health and raising awareness about the stigmas men face when talking about mental health.

The club, which tries to be a safe community where men can be vulnerable, connects them with mental health resources and is dedicated to tackling the stigma related to men’s mental health.

Despite growing up in a family where mental health was openly talked about openly, his brother’s death triggered a journey of grief and therapy for the 22-year-old U of M student.

“Grief and its various stages don’t happen as cleanly as people like to say,” he said.

“There’s a fear of being perceived as weak or lacking masculinity.”–Vaibhav Varma

After his brother’s death, others started sharing their mental health struggles with him. People began messaging Varma on social media and he would talk with students around campus.

Varma’s plan was to finish his undergraduate degree in political science and then become a lawyer, but after understanding the need for more mental health professionals, he decided to study psychology and now hopes to become a clinical psychologist after graduate school.

“It’s my way to give back to society and contribute,” Varma said. “It’s what I want to leave behind.”

As he was listening to students, Varma found that many men didn’t know who to talk to about mental health issues.

“There’s a fear of being perceived as weak or lacking masculinity,” he said.

Males are nearly three times more likely to die by suicide than females, as per Statistics Canada data from 2022.

SUPPLIED
                                Yash Varma died by suicide in March, 2023.

SUPPLIED

Yash Varma died by suicide in March, 2023.

Megh Modha, 18, heard about the club through social media and instantly knew he wanted to join.

“It creates a safe space that is really needed for men to be open and not only open up, but come together and challenge the stigma behind why we think talking about mental health is a sign of weakness,” said Modha, a first-year U of M student.

Both of Modha’s parents are from India, and he said his culture made it difficult to be honest about mental health struggles. Modha saw family members struggle with depression and experience schizophrenia without seeking help.

When his parents divorced, Modha sought supports, such as therapy, to learn how to work through his trauma.

He hopes sharing and listening to other men’s struggles will help people work through their mental health.

“I don’t feel that anyone should be alone,” said Modha.

The club was long overdue, said Prabhnoor Singh, vice-president of external affairs for the U of M students union.

“There’s has definitely been a rise in acknowledging that everyone does have, to some extent, mental health issues,” Singh said.

The 20-year-old politics student said many male international students struggle with their mental health as they adapt to a new culture and try to make friends.

Singh hopes the club will help bridge the gap between students and the university’s mental health resources.

The club’s first event will feature a discussion circle.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca

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