Mental Health Program

Mental health plays a major role in every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. It is our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It impacts the way we think, feel, and act. It helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. When our mental health is disturbed by stressors in our daily life to an extent, one can develop a mental health illness. Mental illness is a condition that affects a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, or behavior, such as depression, anxiety, and more. Any of these conditions can last for a long time and affect a person's ability to relate to others and function throughout the day.

Mental Health vs mental illness

Mental health plays a major role in every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. It is our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It impacts the way we think, feel, and act. It helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. When our mental health is disturbed by stressors in our daily life to an extent, one can develop a mental health illness. Mental illness is a condition that affects a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, or behavior, such as depression, anxiety, and more. Any of these conditions can last for a long time and affect a person's ability to relate to others and function throughout the day.

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm

Worry, Fear, Terror

Anxiety disorder

Although anxiety is something that we experience frequently, Individuals with any anxiety disorders have an intense, excessive, and persistent worry and fear of everyday situations. It is usually a persistent feeling of extreme anxiety, fear, and terror. Types of anxiety disorders are generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, panic disorders, and phobias.

Mood disorder, loss of interest and sadness

Depression

Depression is a mood disorder that can cause a constant feeling of sadness and loss of interest. This disorder affects how you feel, think, and behave, leading to multiple emotional and physical problems. This affects one’s ability to do day-to-day activities and sometimes may feel life is not worth living.

Common signs and symptoms of Anxiety and Depression

Know Your Symptoms. Get Help!

Anxiety signs and symptoms:

  • Feeling nervous, restless, or tense

  • A sense of impending danger, panic, or doom

  • Increased heart rate

  • Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation)

  • Sweating

  • Trembling

  • Feeling weak or tired

  • Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry

  • Trouble sleeping

  • Gastrointestinal (GI) problems

  • Difficulty controlling worry

  • Urges to avoid things that trigger anxiety


Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anxiety/symptoms-causes/syc-20350961
Know your symptoms. Get help!

Depression signs and symptoms:

  • Feelings of sadness, tearfulness, emptiness or hopelessness

  • Angry outbursts, irritability or frustration, even over small matters

  • Loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities, such as sex, hobbies or sports

  • Sleep disturbances, including insomnia or sleeping too much

  • Tiredness and lack of energy, so even small tasks take extra effort

  • Reduced appetite and weight loss or increased cravings for food and weight gain

  • Anxiety, agitation or restlessness

  • Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements

  • Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or self-blame

  • Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions, and remembering things

  • Frequent or recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, or suicide

  • Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches

Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/symptoms-causes/syc-20356007

Let's Talk About It!

Mental health is a pressing concern among college students, and it evolves from multiple stressors in our daily lives. These stressors include but are not limited to:

  • Personal relationships

  • School (exams, academic workload, etc),

  • Graduation and future

  • COVID-19 pandemic

  • Early adverse life experience (trauma, abuse: emotional, sexual, etc.)

  • Alcohol and Drugs

  • Feeling of loneliness and isolation

These life stressors cause anxiety, a major concern among college students, which can lead to depression and other health issues. However, there are several coping mechanisms to help manage mental health illness, this includes therapy, exercise, meditation, and spirituality & religion. Although there are several ways to help reduce mental illness, individuals must choose the method(s) they feel comfortable with. If the chosen method(s) does not work for you, do not give up because another method may work.

2020 NCHA Data: Of TWU students surveyed (N=352)

74.7% have had an appointment to discuss mental health illness including depression

52.7% of students have experienced psychological or mental health services

20.1% of students who experienced depression said that it negatively impacted their academic performance

79.8 percent of students have had a discussion with a healthcare or mental health professional regarding Anxiety

30.3% of students have been diagnosed with anxiety


What does this mean? It means you are not alone!

The effect of mental health on college students!

How does mental health illness affect college students?

The majority of college students use mental health services provided by the institution. There are multiple health issues affecting students worldwide, some of these health issues include:

  • Addiction and Substance Use Disorders

  • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

  • Anxiety Disorders

  • Bipolar Disorder

  • Eating Disorders

  • Depression / Suicide

  • Self-Injury

  • Sleeping Issues and Disorders

  • Schizophrenia

Source: https://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/college-student-mental-health/

Roll the dice and learn about healthy coping skills!

Click the page and roll the dice. What coping mechanism did you land on?

#1 Practice deep breathing #2 Exercise #3 Read a book or article you are interested in #4 Go to therapy #5 Get 7 to 9 hours of sleep #6 If you start to think negatively renew your mind with positive thoughts
#7 Eat a well-balanced meal #8 Make art #9 Meditate #10 Partake in a daily/routine religious or spiritual practice #11 Clean #12 Talk to your friend and/or family member

Check to see if the situation warrants the response you’re having. Examine the facts. While our emotions are always valid, they are not always justified. Look to see if your emotional response matches the circumstances.

Reframe your mind and change perspective for it plays a major role in overall mental health!

Source:https://www.activeminds.org/about-mental-health/self-care/

LEARN MORE!

RESOURCES

TWU Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) : https://twu.edu/counseling

TWU Health & Wellbeing Inititive - Mind Well: https://twu.edu/wellbeing/themed-areas/

TWU Student Health Services (SHS) - Mental Health appts: https://twu.edu/student-health-services/

Active Minds : https://www.activeminds.org

https://www.activeminds.org/about-mental-health/be-there/coronavirus/

National Alliance on Mental Illness(NAMI): https://www.nami.org/covid-19

https://www.nami.org/Get-Involved/NAMI-FaithNet/Tips-For-How-to-Help-a-Person-with-Mental-Illness

National Institute of Mental Health ( NIMH) :https://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml

National Public Health Week : http://www.nphw.org/nphw-2020/covid-19

Okay to Say : https://www.okaytosay.org

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): https://www.samhsa.gov/coronavirus

Crisis Help Lines:

CRISIS TEXT LINE

Text “Home" to 741-741

  • Free 24/7 support for anyone in crisis

  • Text from anywhere in the United States, anytime, about any type of crisis. A real-life human being will receive the text and respond, all from a secure online platform. This trained, volunteer, crisis counselor will help you move from a hot moment to a cool moment.

NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE

Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

  • Free 24/7 support for anyone in suicidal crisis

  • Call from anywhere in the United States. You will be routed to the closest crisis center in your area. Call for yourself or someone you care about. Your call is free and confidential.

  • Never ignore or underestimate remarks about suicide. If you think your friend is in immediate danger, do not leave them alone— stay there and call 911 or the lifeline.

TREVOR PROJECT

1-866-488-7386

Free, confidential, 24/7. Crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people. To view other services info (like text and chat options) and times of availability, visit thetrevorproject.org.

DISASTER DISTRESS HELPLINE

Call 1-800-985-5990

Text “TalkWithUs” to 66746

  • Free 24/7 crisis counseling and support for anyone experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters

  • Call for yourself or on behalf of someone else from anywhere in the United States to be connected to a trained counselor. Support is available in Spanish and more than 100 other languages. The service is free and confidential and provided by SAMHSA (the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration).

  • The helpline is for anyone experiencing emotional distress related to disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, incidents of mass violence, infectious disease outbreaks, incidents of community unrest, and other traumatic events.