When Syracuse University’s Student Association created Mental Health Awareness Week two years ago, they did so with the goal of destigmatizing mental health. Since then, the initiative has introduced more collaborations with organizations and resources on campus, and stretches further than just the week-long campaign.

SU offers a variety of resources on campus year-round to help students struggling with mental illness that allows them space to de-stress. Junior English textual studies major Meghan Nelligan is the president of Active Minds, a student organization on campus aiming to destigmatize mental illness. Throughout the year, the club works with other organizations and resources on campus to promote a positive discussion of mental health.

Here are some suggestions Nelligan has to take advantage of campus resources.

Counseling Center

Where: 200 Walnut Place
Hours: Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m.- 7 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 a.m.- 5 p.m.

Located in a yellow house at the end of Walnut Place is SU’s Counseling Center. Students can call and make appointments, but there are also drop-in hours Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Their services are free to students, including a 24/7 hotline.

Nelligan — who has struggled with anxiety — recently visited the Counseling Center for the first time this year, and said the center has increased their staff to accommodate more students. Even if students aren’t dealing with a mental illness and are instead overwhelmed or stressed, it can still be a useful resource, Nelligan said. If students don’t know where to look for help at first, she recommends that students see a counselor as their first step in dealing with mental health.

“See if that’s the right fit for you,” she said. “Sometimes therapy doesn’t always help everybody. It’s hard to know what to do, but if you’re struggling, reach out to the people in your life. Don’t be ashamed to admit you need help.”

Anna Henderson| Digital Design Editor

Office of Health Promotion

Where: 804 University Ave., Suite 114
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

The Office of Health Promotion offers a variety of services for students on campus. They have features such as the MindSpa, which is a quiet room students can reserve to be alone and de-stress with activities such as guided meditation videos and yoga. Nelligan said meditation has helped her with her own anxiety and recommends visiting the MindSpa to take a break from the busyness of life.

There are also Wellness First Aid Kits students can request, including kits for sleep and stress. The stress kits – which SA Vice President Kyle Rosenblum recommends – include Play-doh, a stress ball and advice on how to manage stress. These services are also free for students to relieve stress, anxiety and other issues that come with being a college student.

Anna Henderson| Digital Design Editor

Hendricks Chapel

Where: Syracuse University campus
When: Mondays starting at noon, 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.; Tuesdays at noon and 4 p.m.; Wednesdays starting at 5:30 p.m.; Thursdays at 9:30 a.m.; and Fridays at 11 a.m.

Located next to SU’s Quad, Hendricks Chapel offers regular meditation sessions throughout the week for students. They are led by both experienced practitioners and students, designed to help promote relaxation. They encourage students of all experience levels to join in, and Nelligan recommends meditation and yoga as ways to clear the mind, adding that physical activity is beneficial for mental health.

The meditation sessions aren’t just for students dealing with mental illness. Nelligan said anyone can attend – the same for any resource on campus – especially if they just need a break from everyday life for an hour or are having an unusually stressful week.

Anna Henderson| Digital Design Editor

Pacifica

When Nelligan met with her therapist at the Counseling Center, she recommend the app Pacifica, which is a free app to help users manage stress and address mental health. With their SU email, students can access the premium version of the app for free. Its features include a space to journal, the ability to track stress, breathing exercises and meditation videos.

Rosenblum and SA President Ghufran Salih said they both use the app — it tracks when they feel stressed and provides advice on how to manage it. Nelligan said the journal helps her most when she deals with stress because writing has helped her in the past with mental health. She adds inspirational quotes in the app, too, which she says also helps her de-stress.

Anna Henderson| Digital Design Editor

For Nelligan, coming to a campus like SU – which offers a variety of resources to help students discuss and deal with mental illness – made her feel like it’s okay to be struggling and that she wasn’t alone. It was comforting, she said, because no one talked about mental health at her high school.

“Meeting all these people who so openly normalize mental health issues was amazing,” she said. “It’s not something to be ashamed about.”

Published on October 8, 2018 at 8:52 pm

Contact Brooke: bnkato@syr.edu