Let’s talk mental health in Honors, Project OCEAN and Self-care ~
Photo courtesy of: https://instagram.com/projectocean_csulb?igshid=NjZiMGI4OTY= / (created by Dana Ocampo, graphic from our theme of Emotional First-Aid)
According to the National Mental Health Alliance (NAMI), “50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24” (NAMI). As college students, many of us fall into this age group and with a variety of daily stressors, we are not impenetrable. Although not all of us may be feeling the effects of a mental illness,
mental health itself can affect anyone, anywhere. Whatever the reason at whatever age, whether it’s academic, economic, social, emotional or mental, whether you’re a younger teenager or a young adult, your mental health matters. As Honors students, we may face a unique, heavier academic pressure, and may be high-achieving students with our own high standards. Or we may begin comparing ourselves to others’ achievements, struggling with solidifying or acknowledging our own.
In a national study examining the state of mental health on 373 different college campuses through 2013 to 2021, it was found that “mental health worsened among all groups over the study period” with around 60% of students meeting criteria for mental health problems, a nearly 50% increase from their data in 2013 (Lipson et al., 2022). These findings reflect the growing importance of the topic of mental health, a conversation that we must continue having until we all grow more comfortable as a society with explicitly supporting, encouraging, and being mindful of it throughout our spaces. Thankfully, mental health has become a bigger topic of discussion in recent years but there are still barriers and stigmas associated with it.
Photo courtesy of: https://instagram.com/projectocean_csulb?igshid=NjZiMGI4OTY= / (created by me, graphic from our theme of Disappointment & Coping Strategies)
Tim Nguyen, an involved Honors student leader who served as a Lead Program Coordinator for the Honors Peer Mentorship Program with me, shared his perspective on mental health. I think we can agree this season has been especially busy as we transition back to in-person and a somewhat “normal” life again. Not drowning in our work and keeping our heads up the whole time might be a big task, but creating a space for ourselves within the flurry can help us maintain our wellness while still completing what we’re setting out to do.
Photo courtesy of: https://instagram.com/csulb.hpmp?igshid=NjZiMGI4OTY= (Taken during our final HPMP recruitment video together! We did a superhero skit)
“There are points in the semester in which the workload gets heavier than usual,” Nguyen said. “Personally, I like to just take a period of isolation from social media and put on my lofi-music and clear all miscellaneous items on my agenda before focusing purely on academics.”
Photo courtesy of: https://instagram.com/csulb.hpmp?igshid=NjZiMGI4OTY= (from our HPMP Ice-skating event!)
Nguyen reminds us that it’s important to recenter yourself and sometimes, clearing the small things off of your list can give you the breathing room to tackle your bigger projects. This can help stop you from being overwhelmed by what you “have” to do, while letting you celebrate the smaller victories and relax in a space where your sole focus is yourself. Finding your own ritual for self-care amid your work is just as important as your work itself. In regards to the Honors program, Nguyen noted some benefits of the smaller classes that help his mental health.
Photo courtesy of: https://instagram.com/csulb.hpmp?igshid=NjZiMGI4OTY= (from our HPMP Ice-skating event!)
“This is where having Honors courses excels as their courses with a smaller class size create a sense of community among classmates.” Nguyen shared. “I am able to coordinate a study session with my peers to relieve some of that stress and make my workload less burdensome.”
You are not alone in the Honors progam, and thankfully, we not only have the kind words of our peers but also several mental health resources on our campus that students can use at no additional cost. This includes our Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Project OCEAN and QPR training to name a few. Let’s dive into a little bit about each:
CAPS is our overall mental health program that oversees our different support resources. Guided by professionals, they provide short-term counseling, psychoeducational workshops, support groups, career development counseling, and crisis intervention. Students can also be referred to a site for longer-term care or for care that they may need off-campus.
Photo courtesy of: https://instagram.com/projectocean_csulb?igshid=NjZiMGI4OTY= (tabling during Week of Welcome)
Project OCEAN is a student-led program working alongside CAPS to provide mental health resources, information, and QPR trainings to fellow students. During my time at OCEAN, we had workshops on important wellbeing topics, including compassion and productivity, burnout, and disappointment and coping strategies. We also had a monthly discussion group and podcast, a monthly reflection letter program, and informational posts throughout each month. OCEAN works to provide additional services to students in a safe and sometimes more casual space.
QPR training is a free suicide prevention training where students can become a certified QPR gatekeeper. QPR stands for its three big steps: question, persuade and refer, which can be instrumental in saving a life or even just for opening discussions on mental health up. Although more serious, this topic is still important to tackle and gives a deeper dive into mental health and our understanding of it as a society.
As a social media coordinator and QPR trainer for Project OCEAN, I met many people across different ages who struggled with a weight that was burdening their mental health. It made me happy to see people exploring their mental health and to be in a position where I could be there for them during their time of need. However, according to the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds “only 25% of students with a mental health problem seek help” (Locke et al., 2015). I spoke to the CAPS Associate Director, Michael Barraza and asked him how our schools could support mental wellness and how accessing these different resources could help.
Photo courtesy of: https://instagram.com/projectocean_csulb?igshid=NjZiMGI4OTY= / (tabling during Week of Welcome)
Photo courtesy of: https://instagram.com/projectocean_csulb?igshid=NjZiMGI4OTY= / (bottom created by Brianna Proud, graphic from our theme of Self-compassion & Productivity)
Barraza noted the role schools can take in student stress by stating that schools need to “be conscious of how different classes or policies may stress students out needlessly and change those.” He suggested developing programs like Project OCEAN and noted several benefits to students accessing on-campus mental health resources. But to reap those benefits, we must first normalize accessing help in the first place and introducing the students to these resources.
Photo courtesy of: https://instagram.com/projectocean_csulb?igshid=NjZiMGI4OTY=
Photo courtesy of: https://instagram.com/projectocean_csulb?igshid=NjZiMGI4OTY= / (top created by me, bottom by Audrey Halim; first photo taken from our theme of Self-compassion & Productivity, second photo from our monthly Coffee Convo podcast)
“Describe any barriers and how the process was helpful.” Dr. Barraza added. “I would take this step further and communicate this to the CAPS Director if the process was not helpful and/or to discuss how barriers can be removed.”
Photo courtesy of: https://instagram.com/projectocean_csulb?igshid=NjZiMGI4OTY= / (created by me, graphic from our theme of Disappointment & Coping Strategies)
Mental health is an ever-evolving subject where finding the right support systems and taking the right steps into these different processes or programs for your wellbeing can benefit you as an Honors student and usher you into a more positive state, helping you better preserve your strength throughout a taxing year. By accessing these resources, connecting with your Honors community and finding your own ritual for self-care when times get tough, you can be a great advocate in your own mental health journey. Schools should also help encourage and support this by constantly developing new or updated programs and making these resources as accessible to students as possible. Thank you to both Dr. Barraza and Tim Nguyen for sharing their thoughts on mental health!
Also, watch Tim’s vlogs ;) !
Photos courtesy of: https://instagram.com/projectocean_csulb?igshid=NjZiMGI4OTY= / (created by me, taken during our last team-bonding session at the beautiful Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden)
Citations:
Locke, Ben, et al. “(CCMH) - Pennsylvania State University.” Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) 2015 Annual Report , Pennstate, https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.psu.edu/dist/3/3058/files/2017/10/2015_CCMH_Report_1-18-2015-yq3vik.pdf.
“Mental Health Conditions.” NAMI, https://www.nami.org/about-mental-illness/mental-health-conditions.
Sarah Ketchen Lipson, Sasha Zhou, Sara Abelson, Justin Heinze, Matthew Jirsa, Jasmine Morigney, Akilah Patterson, Meghna Singh, Daniel Eisenberg, Trends in college student mental health and help-seeking by race/ethnicity: Findings from the national healthy minds study, 2013–2021, Journal of Affective Disorders, Volume 306, 2022, Pages 138-147, ISSN 0165-0327, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.03.038.
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