First year DCM students taking time to enjoy their day and relax in between classes.
Mental health is a topic that is widely talked about in post-secondary schools and Lethbridge College prides itself on making this a priority.
Thousands of students start at the college every fall and it has dedicated plenty of resources to help these students. Some students come straight from high school into the college and tend not to have a full understanding of how important mental health is.
This becomes a major issue because students don’t take the time to protect their mental health and it can cause issues if it is not addressed.
Moving to a new city can cause stress and mental fatigue in students. Mixing that with the challenge of post-secondary school can cause students to completely forget about their mental health.
Learning Café coordinator Diane Fjordbotten says the school year is full of stressors and students experience so many difficulties during the day that they don’t take the time to think about their mental health.
“There are so many pressures from so many directions and its really difficult to maintain a high level of performance if you don’t take care of yourself, and taking care of yourself includes mental health,” Fjordbotten said.
She followed up by saying the college has plenty of ways to help students take care of themselves. The Lethbridge College Students’ Association, Health Services and Wellness Services are all provided for every student attending Lethbridge College.
Along with the services that are provided on campus, the college also promotes the idea that students should all find something that relaxes them outside of school as well. This includes things like art, music, sports and anything else that makes that particular student happy and relaxed.
Fjordbotten also says there are thousands of books and videos online that are dedicated to self-help.
Maggie Lyon, Lethbridge College vice president of student life, said she believes mental health is very important to students. She believes students will struggle to be successful if they don’t think about mental health.
“If you don’t have a strong foundation and balance within your mental and emotional health, it is very difficult to be successful in what you’re wanting to do and accomplish in your life,” Lyon said.
Following this, she explains that the first step in maintaining mental health is understanding yourself and your own emotions. She states that it’s all about experimenting to find what makes you feel good or relaxed.
Lyon explains there are lots of ways students can do this on campus and at home. Drawing, working out, hiking or even just sitting down and watching a video were listed as potential ways to maintain mental health.
A huge role of maintaining mental health especially for students is time management. Time management is one of the biggest factors that impact one’s mental health according to Lyon.
When asked about time management Lyon said that the emotional effect that time management has on a student can make things in life harder and more stressful.
“The emotional and the stress that comes along with time management can be very impactful with you and your everyday life.”
Lyon followed up this statement by saying that nobody is perfect and sometimes people make mistakes with scheduling and passing time. She says that working on one’s time management is a very strong tool to help maintain mental health.
Overall caring for one’s mental health is an issue that students don’t fully understand at times. That being said, it is never too late to begin maintaining your mental health by picking up a new hobby or activity that takes the stress off of school and work.