The sisters of Omega Phi Beta (OPB) informed Pace how mental disorders are dealt with in different countries through their “Cultural Differences” event on Thurs., Nov. 3 in Kessel’s Butcher Suite.

They also shed light on mental disorders and its unrecognized history. Mental Illness Awareness Week was last week, but many students were unaware of it.

The sisters split the audience into two groups and had each group research information on their phones about a specific disorder in a country.

One group researched bipolar disorder in Australia, while the other researched depression in Nigeria. Both groups found treatments for their respective disorder, organizations that helped treat the disorder, and asked to propose a plan on how they would like to see the disorders dealt with through the law of these countries.

The Australian group found that the majority of patients who were diagnosed with the disorder were prescribed drugs. Nurses in the group pointed out that bipolar disorder may not be the best disorder to prescribe drugs to.

There are two branches of bipolar disorders—mania and depression—the two nursing students suggested for more counseling treatments to be used instead. Through this method, they stated that side effects of prescriptions would not be caused and it would allow patients a more natural way of coping with the disorder.

The Nigerian group found that women were more likely to be depressed, as well as those in the lower class. Many of the people diagnosed with depression in Nigeria have no treatment that could help them, however. Approximately 48 million Nigerians suffer depression for economic reasons, according to the Daily Trust, a Nigerian newspaper.

The attendees discussed how often these illnesses are claimed to be created mentally, and not through chemical imbalances in the brain.

“[Mental illness] isn’t really spoken about,” junior Justin Thomas said. “And personally, I didn’t know about a wide range of things that fall under mental health. It is always good to educate people in topics that are important such as this one.”

Omega Phi Beta, along with the students who attended, concluded that more people should be informed about these kinds of issues.

“I think it’s important for students to attend the educational events that organizations host because they’re very informational. There is a lot out there that students aren’t aware of or don’t deem as important enough just because they aren’t knowledgable about it. Also, as students who are members of the organizations that host these events, I think we should do what we can to spread awareness of things we know about, and continue to learn about it ourselves,” Lisbeth Parra, one of the hostesses, said.