According to a study published on the National Institute of Health website, 11.9% of college students suffer from an anxiety disorder, and 7-9% of college students face depression.

Of course, that’s not taking into account students that experience stress-induced anxiety and depression on a daily basis.

Michaela Jones, a junior double majoring in accounting and Spanish at Mercer University, shares her experience.

“I have definitely felt a full range of emotions here at college. I get anxious quite a bit. I actually have really bad anxiety, where sometimes if i’m just walking across campus, I’ll have panic attacks while I’m walking. Depression, gratefully enough I don’t get it as bad as I used to, but I do get that sometimes. And then stress, every day. Every day”, says Jones.

There are many techniques that can be utilized to strengthen your mental health. Mentalhealth.gov recommends people to stay positive, stay physically active, help others, connect with others and get enough sleep. Jones has other ways to deal with depression, anxiety and stress.

“With depression, when that comes up, usually I try and just move, like physical movement, or whatever I’m doing at the time, I try to do something different, whether what I’ve been doing is the cause of it or not. With anxiety I really just take time. I know ASMR has become really popular lately, so I’ll put on the calming sounds”, says Jones. “And then with stress, honestly probably shouldn’t do it as much as I do, but eating or sleeping is my best way. Or just hanging out with friends and getting around sometimes.”

There is a stigma that poor mental health equals mental illness. According to mentalhealth.gov, mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Jones says that maintaining good mental health is very important as college students.

“Especially because it feels like we’re required to do a million things while also get a 4.0 and basically run the campus. So a lot of times we can get lost in trying to do a million things and stop paying attention to ourselves when the reality is, we are human beings before we’re students. So it’s really important to be in tune with how you’re feeling at every moment,” says Jones.

As college students, we need to be aware of our health, whether that’s physical health or mental wellbeing. If you feel yourself stressed or overwhelmed, take some time out of your day to destress. For more information, watch my fellow student journalist Eryn Lee’s report on how to destress.

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