A group of Harvard University students have created the "Feel Good Society" in a bid to fight depression and other mental health issues their classmates face at the highly-competitive Ivy League school.
Seniors Alec Bowman, Emily Johansen and Melanie Slone started the group on the Cambridge, Mass., campus last month to break the "taboo around discussing mental health struggles as a Harvard kid."
The trio holds meetings every Sunday near Harvard's dining hall and offers free pizza to those who show up.
In a pitch to students, Bowman writes on Facebook: "Got the weather blues? Midterm blues? No blues, but curious? Whatever it is, come stop by, even if it's just to double check that other people like you do, in fact, exist!"
In an interview with the Harvard Crimson newspaper, he said the society isn't aiming to be a talk-therapy or a psychoanalysis group.
"The primary purpose of the group actually is to focus on the positive things and practical tips … an organic safety net for people," Bowman told The Crimson's Angela Fu and Dianne Lee.
The group will also pair off students to check in with each other.
"If someone pairs up at the end of the meeting and doesn't respond on Thursday at all, it's kind of like a notice for us as a sympathetic group of people that something might be up," Bowman said.
While Harvard has an extensive mental health program serving the campus, the society's focuses on a more relaxed, informal and low-key vibe.
The high pressures of attending Ivy League schools are an ongoing concern. Last year, an Ivy League mental health conference was held at the University of Pennsylvania and attended by representatives from all eight Ivy League schools.
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