by Terese Greene

Mental Health for college students is a huge topic that should be discussed all around the world. In America 1 in 5 people suffer from mental health and 6 in 10 people with mental health get no treatment at all. With that being said so many people struggle with mental health but are afraid of reaching out for help. No matter what or how you are feeling there will always be a solution or someone out there that can help you.
I know for a fact that life can get extremely stressful at times. Things can get really tough, especially being a student-athlete and having to balance school, work, and sports. Having to maintain a certain GPA in order to play that sport makes things a lot harder speaking from experience. When stressed or feeling hopeless, ask friends, coaches, professors, or even your RA for help because I guarantee they are going to get you the help you need.
https://www.thezebra.com/resources/research/mental-health-statistics/#statistics-2021
I personally believe that a few of the main problems for individuals struggling with mental health is they are either scared, afraid of embarrassment, or don’t know the right places to look. But what they don’t realize is all the help and support they have around them. When I first moved to college away from home I was constantly stressed with school, basketball, being away from home, and just missing my friends and family. I never knew how much support and love that was all around my community. Getting the courage to reach out of my comfort zone to ask and get the help with classes I needed helped me realize that I am never alone here. I even met new people I could reach out to when needing help.
AAAD is an excellent organization that focuses mainly on finding resources for everyone’s mental health battles and needs. They have a safe space so everyone feels protected and comfortable sharing their mental health thoughts and stories. AAAD also pairs with a bunch of other organizations to help with anxiety, depression, panic attacks, drug use, etc.
https://www.aaadf.org
I would love to see more information on social media about the importance of mental health and what you could do to prevent or even help with it. This information could be put out on the school’s Instagram, the school’s website, or anything. The more information that is being put out and the more people that are reposting it could change things around campus or even change people’s minds about reaching out for help. Another idea I had is maybe teachers taking a class to talk about mental health and maybe doing activities that could talk about what to do when feeling stressed or alone.

References: 

• https://www.aaadf.org
• https://www.thezebra.com/resources/research/mental-health-statistics/#statistics-2021 
• https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/your-mental-health/about-mental-health/what-are-mental-health-problems
• https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm