Content Warning: This piece contains mentions of suicide. One of the most important factors in terms of a student’s decision to seek help is campus climate. Students are uniquely positioned to have direct and immediate effects on their peers’ perceptions of mental health issues and their likelihood to access mental health services. In the year…
I have been on both the giving and receiving ends of support. Here are some things I would have liked to tell myself, and others, in either or both situations: To someone struggling What you are feeling is real, and it is not your fault for feeling this way. You are not overreacting. I know…
You are so much more than the grades you get in classes, the top-tier internships, the score of your post graduate entrance exam. The thing about college is that through fierce and constant competition, you sometimes forget that. And honestly how could you not? You are told for years leading up to your first day…
Sensitive Topic: This post includes imagery of war. While sharing my feelings through conversation proves to be difficult time and time again, I have found solace in writing and poetry. Rhythmic lines and simple rhymes help gather my thoughts and put them into something resembling cohesion. When I’m faced with dark and anxious thoughts, it…
“Hi, I’m Carmen and I’m a junior at Rockhurst. Wait no, I’m a senior now actually.” “Yeah, I’m not really sure what I’m going to do after graduation, but we’ll figure it out.” “No, I am absolutely not ready to leave.” via GIPHY Does this sound familiar? I have started to have these conversations…
It takes courage to open up about individual struggles, plus vulnerability, bravery, and trust — along with a whole other slew of emotions. It also takes courage to stand with your friend (physically or virtually) when they’re going through the thick of it. To properly honor the vulnerability of your friend, you want to make…
Content Warning: This piece contains mentions of suicide and gun violence/school shootings. August 5, 2019 — In the wake of the tragedies in El Paso and Dayton, I am devastated to have to bring the message I wrote last year following the catastrophic events at Stoneman Douglas High School forward again. I am devastated not only because…
RYAN FLINN NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY Ryan’s research project “Aggies Talk” examines the impact of stigma and attitudes on peer-to-peer helping behaviors among first-generation students. Dear Future Ryan, Your strength is your compassion for others. Your weakness is your self-criticism. You were born worthy. (You were the only person who was ever unconvinced of this…
Content Warning: This piece contains mentions of suicidal ideation. When asked about a poignant memory from the past school year, an Active Minds student leader from a minority-serving institution shared that one day, they were just finishing up leading a suicide prevention training in a classroom when a young student approached with tears in her…
Three seasons of The Good Place later, and I am still as invested as when the series first began. The concepts the show puts in place of heaven and hell, morality and ethical codes, are depicted as traditional concepts and systems that must be reformed. The concept is clever enough, but the characters are what…
Active Minds is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization promoting mental health awareness and education for young adults.