October 1^st – 7^th is mental health awareness week.

You’ll see the social media posts about people being there for support and the people really trying to bring awareness to the topic. Mental health is a serious issue and it should be taken seriously all the time and not just during one week throughout the year.

Some universities take this week very seriously. Mine does because mental health in general is taken very seriously around our campus. During this week it is mandatory for the new freshmen to take a depression screening and go over it with a counselor. It is several questions that are based on a number scale. The overall score ranges from a 0 – 30. In terms, the lower the number the “better off you are” and the higher the number, the worse your problems are. Some students do not take this seriously because they find it funny, or are too scared to speak about their problems. It does help to be honest on the screening because after all, these people are there to help. These screenings sometimes give students enough confidence to be open and ask for help with their problems. During my screening I was open and spoke about some of the drama I was deal with and it felt great to rant to a listening ear and get everything off my chest.

Some students and people are not taking mental health week, or mental health in general seriously. People make little comments that can be triggering to other people and that needs to be stopped. Depression, Anxiety, etc. are not a cry for attention, they are psychological disorders that need to be taken seriously. Many people have these disorders, but struggle every day because people are not open or accepting about them.

Overall, the whole topic of mental health is sensitive, but it needs to be addressed more so that those struggling feel comfortable getting help. And more colleges need to be open and understanding about their students.