{"id":4078,"date":"2015-11-03T10:34:44","date_gmt":"2015-11-03T17:34:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcmhac\/?p=4078"},"modified":"2015-10-27T20:37:34","modified_gmt":"2015-10-28T03:37:34","slug":"life-on-campus-dont-forget-to-take-care-of-your-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcmhac\/2015\/11\/03\/life-on-campus-dont-forget-to-take-care-of-your-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Life on Campus: Don\u2019t Forget to Take Care of Your Mental Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many students, as they near the end of their final year of high school, may feel a lot of anticipation and excitement to finally graduate and enter their first year of university. \u00a0There are numerous thoughts that run through the minds of students as they step into a new stage in their lives. \u00a0Some may look forward to more freedom and independence \u2013 getting to make their own decisions, exploring entirely new events and initiatives, and meeting new people. \u00a0Others may be eager to begin the transition into adulthood and to start fresh, away from those familiar five years of high school. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, when university hits and has finally sunk in after a few days, weeks, and months even, that is when some students may begin to realize how overwhelmed they have become. \u00a0The breaking point could be getting back that mid-term exam mark and being immersed in disappointment. \u00a0It could be looking at that schedule and feeling that there is barely any down time to relax or even sleep for a decent amount of hours. \u00a0It could be feeling alone and unable to feel a sense of belonging on campus or to find a passion that they would like to pursue in the future. \u00a0It could be feeling the immense pressure to do well in a highly competitive field and reach expectations while attempting to balance a great amount of other responsibilities at the same time. \u00a0Whatever it is, many university students may feel the difficulty of coping with various obstacles that seem to be continuously thrown in their way. \u00a0Students often struggle with maintaining a positive outlook and good mental health around this period in their own lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, in a study involving multiple schools in the United States, Cornell psychologist Janis Whitlock found that 7.5 per cent of students who began university with no previous experience of mental illness have developed symptoms (Lunau, 2012).<\/span> \u00a0<\/b>Five per cent of those who did have a history with mental illness in the past were found to have seen with an increase in symptoms during their time in university (Lunau, 2012). \u00a0Although these numbers may seem small, in the grand scale of things, it still affects a number of people considering the vast amount of thousands of total students within a single university. \u00a0It is of great significance to take action and support those who may be going through a challenging time in their lives. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are a wide range of resources on site at the UBC campus that can provide support to students who need any help or someone to talk to. \u00a0The Alma Mater Society provides a service called Speakeasy for students who are facing challenges related to depression, relationship problems, anxiety, and more. \u00a0Speakeasy volunteers are there to listen to what students have to say regarding stressful situations they may be experiencing in a supportive and non-judgemental environment. \u00a0The Wellness Centre is another resource where students can drop by to ask any questions they may have regarding maintenance of well-being including stress management and eating and sleeping better. \u00a0More resources can be found on the UBC MHAC blog and on the \u201cLearn to Live Well\u201d UBC students webpage (<\/span>http:\/\/students.ubc.ca\/livewell<\/span><\/a>). \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

University is an experience that is full of obstacles, stress, and occasions that may take a toll on not only one\u2019s health physically, but mentally as well. \u00a0However, resources are available around campus whenever students would like to seek advice or a bit of guidance and support throughout their time at university. \u00a0Despite the reality that there are challenges in this chapter in life, each day is a new day \u2013 remember that there are more positive and brighter times ahead as well. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Written by Michelle Huynh<\/em><\/p>\n

References: <\/span><\/p>\n

Lunau, Kate. \u201cThe Mental Health Crisis on Campus.\u201d <\/span>Macleans.ca. <\/span><\/i>Rogers Media, 05 September 2012. \u00a0Web. \u00a025 October 2015. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many students, as they near the end of their final year of high school, may feel a lot of anticipation and excitement to finally graduate and enter their first year of university. \u00a0There are numerous thoughts that run through the minds of students as they step into a new stage in their lives. \u00a0Some may […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29913,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcmhac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcmhac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcmhac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcmhac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29913"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcmhac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4078"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcmhac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4079,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcmhac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4078\/revisions\/4079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcmhac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcmhac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ubcmhac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}