As high school students embark on their journeys into a new environment full of opportunities and challenges, it’s highly crucial for them to take care of their mental well-being properly. The college campus environment, unlike high school, incorporates vibrant and dynamic aspects, as well as demanding and often overwhelming factors.
Throughout this essay, we will explore three different tips for nurturing mental health on campus: participating in diverse clubs, establishing relationships with professors or faculty, and seeking professional assistance.
Participating in Diverse Clubs
The first tip for maintaining mental well-being on campus revolves around the establishment of a friendly and supportive environment.
First-year students in college very often experience departure from familiar environments and the absence of a familiar social network, which could eventually contribute to feelings of isolation and stress.One effective way to reduce and improve college students’ mental health is by seeking opportunities to pursue self-care and enjoyable activities by joining intriguing clubs around the campus.
Having a scheduled time to participate in a specific and enjoyable activity gives students some time to look forward during the school year, helping them to relieve the stress that may have accumulated due to academic burdens.
Besides, providing a safe and comfortable space with peers who have similar interests will foster social connectedness. The act of maintaining healthy friendships will improve students’ resilience, boost self-esteem, and dramatically reduce suicide possibilities.
By joining a club and making new relationships, college students can make friends who will support them through different challenges and can help make their college experience much more positive.
Creating Relationships with Professors and Advisors
Another tip for students to manage their mental health is to cultivate relationships with professors, academic advisors, and college faculty. The adults around the campus can provide students with mentorship and guidance by serving as valuable resources, offering academic assistance, and providing careful insights to manage various aspects of new college life.
Positive student-professor relationships can lead to increased mental well-being for students by relieving academic burdens and providing a possible career path. One of the biggest stress factors for students is a different learning environment compared to their high school: larger class sizes, continuous lectures, requirement of independent study, etc.
Students often struggle to adapt to the new learning style and experience different failures in this process. Creating a positive relationship with the professors can significantly improve students’ learning by engaging them in class lectures and materials whilst receiving accurate feedback and help.
Students could also receive valuable and real-world insights from professors or academic advisors who were once placed in the same situation as the students. While their professional journeys may differ from the students, their experiences can undoubtedly help the students make the most out of their education and search for a specific career goal.
Therefore, a supportive relationship with professors or advisors will foster a sense of belonging and certainty, reducing the likelihood of mental health challenges regarding uncertainty and academic pressures.
Looking for Professional Assistance
Although joining clubs and establishing relationships with professors are effective methods to foster mental well-being, sometimes additional and professional support is necessary for certain students.
Students often get embarrassed when seeking professional help while undergoing mental illness issues. There are different types of resources around college campuses such as counselling services that students can access with confidential support from trained professionals.
Counselling services provide safe, direct, supportive, and confidential help to students regarding any source of mental health, including homesickness, career uncertainty, depression, substance misuse, social anxiety, eating disorders, etc.
The professionals will carefully evaluate students’ current conditions and provide accurate coping mechanisms and appropriate medications so that the students can navigate through their challenges successfully and in a healthy way.
Students could also have online counselling appointments, in case they are not comfortable talking face-to-face, or if in-person appointments are full. Just like these, there are countless resources around campus available for student mental health, and it is very important not to be afraid to seek help if necessary.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a student’s first step towards a new environment called college should be considered a life-long experience that shapes his identity on multiple levels. In this process, pursuing mental health is one of the keys to a successful and fulfilling college experience.
By joining different interesting clubs, creating a positive relationship with professors, and learning how to seek help through professional counselling systems, students can establish healthy mental well-being, despite the stress of the new environment on a college campus.
In a world where learning becomes more important, both students and colleges should also learn how to promote mental well-being for the continuous development of learning.
Great article! Thanks, Cho