Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental health is a relevant topic amongst college students. More than 80% of college students feel overwhelmed, and 41% of college students have sought counseling. With stressors such as coursework, friends, navigating pioneering a career, and forming an identity, college students are faced with a lot of factors that make wellbeing so important, yet easily isn't prioritized amongst all our other to-dos.

I’ve learned that mental health is foundational.

You can’t take care of your to-dos until you have taken care of yourself. It sounds straightforward, but too many times I’ve seen myself and my peers try to undertake our responsibilities without heedance to our mental and emotional well-being. Sometimes, we don’t want to say no to opportunities, friends, and family because we didn’t want to admit to not having the bandwidth for it. There were times in the semester where I would pile my plate and push mental health to the margins to make space for school, work, and extracurriculars. Mental health was at the bottom of my priority list, even as I vocally cheered for my friends to champion ways to prioritize their wellbeing, I was silently allowing my own wellbeing to slip between the cracks. Not only was I drained, but I felt a lingering guilt if I scheduled time for myself. But my current model of not prioritizing myself was not sustainable. I realized that in order to take care all the arenas of my life––school, work, extracurricular activities, friends, family, and personal development––I needed to take care of myself first. In this sense, my mental health was foundational to all other aspects of my life. It was square one.

Everyone has different outlets in how they care for themselves. Some love doing crafts, others go for walks or runs or find a physical activity. I have friends who bake, read, take a bath, play with their pet, color, etc. These methods all look different but they achieve the same outcome. I had to unlearn that taking time to prioritize my mental health was not time wasted. Prioritizing mental health looks different on different days. Some days, taking a walk instead of watching a lecture or working on an assignment was productive because it was an outlet for me to be alone with my thoughts and take a break from my long winded days. Other days, it means carving out time for connecting with friends and family.

Here are some blurbs from other students who have decided to share their thoughts on mental health:

“I had never considered myself someone with mental health “issues” or even had really spent time considering whether or not I have a healthy relationship with my mind until last year. Beginning my sophomore year I became increasingly stressed out (my own fault for taking on more than I could handle) and felt my mental health steadily declining. As a result I felt less present among my friends, more tired, and less productive. I didn’t get myself the time to reflect on what I was doing wrong or how I could improve my wellbeing.

After a semester of this overcommitment, I began to see a therapist and prioritize things that I know now will always improve my mental health (for me that includes a long run and spending time outside each day, but it is different for everyone!). Most importantly, I’ve learned not to diminish my problems and turn a blind eye to what is really going on inside my head. Mental health in its essence means checking in on yourself (emotionally, physically, and spiritually), observing when something feels out of balance, and knowing how to focus yourself back to the point of happy, self-loving equilibrium.”

“Some days it can be so easy to feel the pressure to keep pushing myself and feel like I'm "winning" by being stressed out, but during my time in college I've constantly reminded myself how important it is to take care of my mental health. As someone who has struggled with mental health issues since high school, taking the time to refill my own cup so that I can pour into others has been crucial to prevent burn out and care for my mental health well. My favorite ways to care for my mental health has been taking time to myself (whether that's reading, working out, taking a nap, or watching comedy shows), spending time with friends and family, and baking!”

“I have felt the strong need and importance of mental health during my time in college, especially this year after going through the pandemic and multiple unexpected life events. I have faced several deep lows that are circumstantial, but they have taught me a lot about the priority of mental, physical, and emotional health. Mental health can affect the way that you perform in any situation, both academically and relationally. I would like to continue to advocate for promoting mental health awareness even after I graduate from UT, because mental health is important in all chapters of life.”