The #SpeakYourMind ice bucket challenge lands in icy waters

In the last decade, suicide has become one of the leading causes of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In response to this phenomenon, the Speak Your Mind challenge hoped to combat suicide by starting an internet trend.

Given that 13.5% of suicides come from people between the ages of 15 and 24, the challenge is geared to get college students across the country to engage in dialogue about their mental health challenges. The challenge was started by a club at the University of South Carolina called Mental Illness Needs Discussion (USC MIND) and worked in partnership with the mental health awareness organizations Active Minds and The Fight Against Suicide to raise money and spread their message. 

To participate in the trend, people would record dumping cold water on themselves, post the short video on social media using the hashtag #SpeakYourMind, and tag their friends to participate. Participants are encouraged to donate to Active Minds, an organization advocating for mental health awareness and education. 

Since the challenge began, the public’s response has been mixed. #SpeakYourMind has succeeded in drawing millions of views and star participation, including Peyton Manning and Scarlett Johansson. The challenge has raised over $400,000 in donations towards Active Minds and its mission to spread mental health awareness. Despite this, many think the challenge isn’t making real change to stop suicide or starting conversations around mental health.

One internet user, Moises Hernandez, a California resident, commented on how the challenge was harmful back in 2015. He further explained how back then, California was experiencing a drought, and he thought people should donate to  charity instead of participating in a challenge that costs water. 

“People are going back in time to dump water back on their heads and waste water again,” Hernandez said. “I 100% know there’s a better way to speak about mental health.”

 Zachary Martin, a student at Western Washington University, who participated, said he didn’t enjoy how people weren’t taking the challenge seriously.

“Seeing the challenge get so mistreated was a little frustrating, because it just turned into a fun thing for people … in the moment, it felt good to kind of reclaim it without nominating others and just supporting the cause,” Martin said.

Many people within the mental health advocacy industry also saw the benefit in the challenge. Kelly Frost, executive director and counselor of Clarity Mental Health & Recovery, said he saw the challenge as a way to spread more awareness.

“Anything that kind of spreads around social media like that, and starts to create dialogue and conversations, can always be helpful,” Frost said.

The USC MIND club started the challenge to raise awareness about mental health issues many people commonly experience. The club first came about in 2024 when Wade Jefferson, co-founder of the club, had two close friends die at the hands of suicide and wanted to bring more awareness to the issue within South Carolina’s student population. 

Henry Trask, vice president of USC MIND, said his co-leaders Claire Peebles and Wade Jefferson came up with the challenge to get their campus more interested in discussing mental health. When the challenge became popular and the club started to get criticism, Trask maintained the belief that the people who criticized the challenge didn’t understand the true meaning behind the challenge.

“If you’re gonna hate, you’re gonna hate,” Trask said. “This is for a good cause.”

Trask said  the challenge had a massive impact on his mental health and brought him out of his struggles. Right before helping start up the challenge, he was hospitalized with the flu and pneumonia, causing an interruption in his education.

“It was very difficult some days to even just get out of bed, and seeing how this challenge has performed and the money we’ve raised, and how far we’ve gotten because (of) it. It made it all worth something,” Trask said. “There’s a lot of people around you who support and love you, and will do more than you think they will for you.”

The USC MIND club plans to keep spreading awareness in collaboration with the Fight Against Suicide organization. Trask said they plan to hold a three-day event that will have a boxing match and educational sessions on campus to promote mental health awareness. They also plan to bring in professional psychologists to equip staff better in helping students struggling with mental illness.