Mental Health Check
When you think of your mental health you might push it aside due to other reasons, may even think it’s not as important. What if we told you that your mental health is key to your success in life. Taking the time out of your day to care for your mental health is important and with all the stress of what’s going on, there can be a heavy impact on what your mental health should look like. Starting a new school year can be tough, especially with the looks of COVID-19. It can make the school year seem unbearable. You may have moved out of here from a small town and haven’t had the chance to see the beauty of Concordia University, the stress levels of doing online classes can also be a factor to consider when looking at your mental health this year. We can all admit 2020 hasn’t been the type of year we expected it to be with everything going on, but we shouldn’t focus on 2020 but focus on how we can better take care of our mental state during these difficult times.
Five Things you can do to help your mental health:
Taking care of your body:
Taking care of yourself through physical exercise can improve your mental health. Eat nutritious meals and drink plenty of water. Try to get a full night’s rest each night as research has shown that the lack of sleep leads to higher rates of depression.
Surround yourself with good people:
It’s always a good thing to have a supportive network. Finding the right friends can be hard when starting off in University. Make plans with supportive family members and friends or try to join a club within the school.
Break up the monotony:
Our routines can make us feel safe and secure, however, sometimes it’s good to change our routines up a little. Maybe taking a new route when we go for a jog or cooking the same meal with one ingredient that is different.
Learn how to deal with stress:
Whether we like it or not, stress is always a part of our daily lives. It is good to practice coping skills to deal with said stress.
Get help when you need it:
When you look to others for help, it is a sign of strength – not a weakness. It is important that your treatment is effective, these resources that the school provides are free for the students to use.
Mental Health is highly important. How you take care of it this month shows how you will take care of it in the future. Will that be by talking to someone? Or letting everything fester on the inside. There are many services that the school does offer to students in ways to improve their mental health and more, through peer support where you have someone to just listen to how you feel, there are counselling sessions that you can book if you ever felt the need to talk to someone, tutoring services for different subjects so if your ever struggling in a subject there is always someone there to help you. No matter the situation.
It is important that you find someone to talk to, going through things alone can be difficult. As University students, we don’t have a lot of opportunities to get help without paying heavily, theses are the services offered by the school for students to use.
Counselling Services
Psychological support to students
To access online support please use the website link below to book an appointment or use the chat function to speak to a member of the Peer Support Team.
To access support in person, visit the Student Success Centre and speak to Wendy to book an appointment or visit the Peer Support Team during their office hours.
CUE Wellness
Concordia University of Edmonton is committed to promoting health and wellness for the whole CUE community.
If you have questions about events that are taking place on campus or ways to improve your overall wellness, contact the Campus Wellness Coordinator at the email below.
Website: https://concordia.ab.ca/student-services/student-life-learning/support-services/cue-wellness/
Email: nicole.houghtaling@concordia.ab.ca
September 10, 2020 is World Suicide Prevention Day and is held annually it was an initiative from the International Association for Suicide Prevention. Everyone is affected by suicide, it’s a heavy subject, not only for the victims but for the family and friends. There are services that you can find online to help further your education about suicide prevention listed below.
Crisis Services Canada are | 1-833-456-4566 | available 24/7/365
Mental Health Help Line |1-877-303-2642 | available 24/7
First Nations and Inuit Hope for Wellness Help Line | 1-855-242-3310 |available 24/7
Health Link | 811
Deborah Olawale
