We’ve all been there – it’s the third week into a new semester, you’re almost but not quite settled in and work is coming in at full speed. Having powered through the stress of coming back (or arriving for the first time!) to campus, you’ve hit the point where you need that one day off, 12 hour nap optional.
While every college student experiences stress at different points in the semester, living with a mental illness combined with these stressors can make you feel like you’re fighting an impossible battle just to do the bare minimum. What’s worse is trying to explain these difficulties to friends and professors who, despite best intentions, can’t really understand what you’re trying to say at all.
During a break a friend might mention that having only one class on a certain day must be so easy and relaxing – for some people that’s true, but for others even on good days, that one class may be a hurdle. But talking about it can be a difficult thing – how do you explain to someone that there are days you might not be able to get out of bed without feeling as though you sound lazy? Or try to get across that it isn’t that you don’t want to hang out with friends, but that you know how much worse you will feel after even briefly socializing? On bad days for some us it can be a real triumph to have simply showered and changed from sleeping pajamas to daytime pajamas. You might feel like this makes you less competent, or that were you to try and share this with someone they wouldn’t understand; maybe they won’t. But you don’t need to understand what someone is going through to support them through it, and the journey will feel so much shorter with someone to lean on. It takes a lot of bravery to let someone see you when you feel you’re at your worst, but never feel like you’re going through this alone.
In this age of phones and internet and all sorts of communication methods, there are number of options for people who might be dealing with personal crises and need the support of others – friends willing to listen, close adults and people trained specifically to listen and help. If you feel more comfortable on campus, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) on the SBU campus offer both one on one and group counseling to help you achieve and maintain a healthy and stable mindset. Disability Services will walk you through the process of gaining accommodations for classes if you need them, and are located right on campus.
If you aren’t ready or comfortable to take those steps, that’s okay too! Everyone moves at their own pace and copes with what they’ve got in the methods that work for them. But when you’re wondering ‘is it just me?’, when you’re thinking that there’s something wrong with you or that you are the problem, remember you’re not alone. The time of silence and stigma around discussing mental health is coming to an end, and you deserve every chance to thrive in anything and everything you want to.
On Campus Mental Health Resources:
Phone: (631) 632-6748
Fax: (631) 632-6747
Email: dss@stonybrook.edu
Office Hours: 8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Phone : (631) 632-6720
CAPS After Hours!: “Students who are in distress can call CAPS anytime, day or night, and speak with a professional counselor. Just dial (631) 632-6720 and press 2 after regular business hours (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm).”
Off Campus Mental Health Resources:
http://mentalillnessmouse.tumblr.com/helpfulresources