Let’s Talk Mental Health
Written by Nancy Maria Fernandez
@nancymfernz
Photo by Paola Chaaya on Unsplash
The month of October is known for being the “spooky season” and for all the ensuing excitement that comes with Halloween. As university students, it also means bracing ourselves for the flood of assignments, tests, and deadlines that are headed our way this month. This fall the pandemic coupled with the virtual semester are sure to add to our stress. As a result, it is natural to feel more overwhelmed than usual. This could also mean a spike in mental health crises among students. While we don’t need any special occasion to address the importance of mental wellbeing, the fact that the World Mental Health Day falls on October 10th every year seems fitting enough to do so. The goal of this article is to create awareness about mental health and to educate students on the various mental health support services that are being offered by the university and otherwise. So, let’s talk mental health.
Why is it important to understand that mental health is as equally important as your physical health?
Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines Mental Health as ‘a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her [or their] own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her [or their] community.’ In this fast-paced world, mental health issues, especially those related to stress, are becoming increasingly common. Students are especially vulnerable given the new challenges that come with remote learning this term. We are living far away from loved ones, attending classes online, and working from home or otherwise during the pandemic. This not only impacts our physical health, but also our mental health.
The reason why it is important to be mindful of our mental wellbeing, especially during this difficult time, is because in many parts of the world, talking about mental health is still considered a taboo. Moreover, it is common to have your feelings invalidated by others in the face of the pandemic which has left several people unemployed, sick, bankrupt, hungry or dead. While it is important to be empathetic and helpful to others in any way we can, we must also be cognizant of our own mental health because emotional wounds are invisible and tend to be pushed aside until they start manifesting themselves in the form of physical ailments. Above all, you need to take care of yourself because you deserve to be healthy and happy no matter what.
There is a TED Talk by Hailey Hardcastle titled Why Students Should have Mental Health Days which addresses mental health among students. Hardcastle discusses her work as a mental health activist who advocated for a bill that would offer “mental health days” for high school students that are similar to sick days. Through collective effort, Hardcastle and her team were instrumental in seeing this law passed which would undoubtedly help students get the necessary mental health support that they need. Mental health days are a great strategy to help students combat mental health issues. They allow us to take the personal time we need to deal with the pressures of everyday life.
Mental Health at SMU
I was interested to learn how this factored into the dynamic at SMU (beyond the Declaration of Extenuating Circumstances clause) since a lot of classes offered at our university do not require mandatory attendance. So I contacted Student Services to learn more about how the university is actively working to ensure that students are not academically overburdened during distance learning. They connected me to SMU Counselling, but unfortunately, I found their response to be a bit lacking. Besides regaling me about the various services offered by The Counselling Centre (which I found out about myself regardless), they were unable to provide me with a substantive answer as to how SMU is handling the problem of academic stress this term.
While it is understandable that students will have to put in extra effort in maintaining a proper schedule this semester, the virtual restructuring that resulted has left many students feeling like they have excess coursework to do. Many professors have broken down larger assignments worth a substantial portion of one’s final grade, into smaller, less weighty chunks. As a result, many students have indicated feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work they are expected to do this term. Besides offering a wider variety of mental health support services this semester, it has become clear that SMU hasn’t done much to curb the increased potential academic fatigue that many students are bound to experience (if not already) this term. This could possibly lead to increases in mental health issues, exhaustion, and burnout. One way of preventing this would be for professors to grant more extensions when it comes to turning in assignments and tests.
But to be fair, the university has adopted several other important measures to ensure the wellbeing of SMUdents by making mental health services more accessible. Since it is the first ever virtual semester, SMU has expanded the number of services being offered by The Counselling Centre. The new resources allow students to have counselling sessions over the phone or through video. Additionally, The Counselling Centre is also offering a wide range of other services to students that include Good2Talk, Peer Support, ManMade, and E-Mental Health services like Therapy Assistance Online (TAO) and Mental Health Advocates. You can avail of all these services free of charge as long as you are enrolled at SMU as a student.
Good2Talk is a 24-hour hotline exclusively for university students in Ontario and Nova Scotia that offers free, confidential, professional counselling services. The Counselling Centre has teamed up with SMUSA to offer the Peer Support service under the ‘Stay Connected Mental Health Project’. It comprises a group of student peer supporters who are committed to helping fellow students navigate their college life. ManMade is a discussion group exclusively for male students at SMU that focuses on topics related to toxic masculinity, sex, and self-esteem. Therapy Assistance Online (TAO) is a self-help, e-mental health resource that includes online educational tools to help students boost their mood and learn more about mental health.
Mental Health Advocates is a short program spanning 10 modules that educates individuals on various mental health-related subjects. The topics covered include Addressing Academic Anxiety, Emotional Resilience, Loss and Grief, Men’s Mental Health, Trauma, Suicide Awareness and Mental Health Resources, to name a few. Not only will this program facilitate a better understanding of mental health and its related issues, it will also be a valuable addition to your co-curricular record (CCR) at SMU. In order to list it in your CCR, you must complete at least 10 hours worth of modules (each module takes up to one hour to complete). To access this program, select the Self Registration option under Restricted Courses on Brightspace. Then choose Mental Health Advocates to complete your registration for this course. In addition to this, the Counselling Centre is also set to launch a set of student workshops called ‘The Resilience Series’. Conducted over Microsoft Teams or Zoom, this initiative will cover a variety of topics including Distress Tolerance strategies, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Mindfulness and Emotion Regulation. The Counselling Centre has also launched the SMU Healthy Minds Team that comprises student mental health advocates dedicated to raising awareness and promoting mental health. You can also volunteer for this initiative which would be documented in your CCR (application can be found at the bottom of their page).
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The university is also offering mental health webinars to its staff and faculty in order to better educate them on the mental health of students. Additionally, the Counselling Centre has partnered with the International Student Centre to host a series of Mental Health Orientations for new international students via Microsoft Teams. The next Mental Health Orientation sessions are happening on October 22nd from 10:30am to 11:30am ADT and on November 12th from 1:30pm to 2:30pm ADT. Those interested must confirm their registration by emailing saga@smu.ca.
Another effective method to maintain your mental wellbeing would be teaching yourself to actively prioritize self-care. Having said that, it is also important to note that self-care is different for different people. For some, it might mean settling into a nice, warm bubble bath; for others, self-care means listening to music or watching a movie / TV show. And for others still, self-care might be getting an extra hour or two of sleep. Whatever your version of self-care might be, make sure to set aside some time every week to relax, rewind, refresh and rejuvenate.
Additional Support
If you are experiencing any stress or issues with your mental health, you can contact the Nova Scotia Mental Health and Addictions at any time by phone at 1-888-429-8167. You can also get in touch with the Canadian Mental Health Association (Nova Scotia division) for further assistance. If you are experiencing an emergency, please call 911. You can find additional contact support and services on the SMU website.
References
https://smu.ca/campus-life/the-counselling-centre.html
https://smu.ca/campus-life/peer-support.html
https://smu.ca/campus-life/manmade.html
https://smu.ca/campus-life/e-mental-health.html#Mental%20Health%20advocates
https://novascotia.cmha.ca/mental-health/find-help/
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response