by Michelle Willson, Editor-in-Chief
So as most of you know, this year has been really bad on mental health. I’ve seen it in myself my friends and my classmates. Sometimes as I’m walking through campus I laugh because as mental health goes down the colors of students hair go all over the place. Personally I’ve had my hair green and now it’s purple… I might go purple again but I’m not sure yet. And I know that I get the urge should dye my hair when my mental health starts to get bad and I think you can receive that reflected in others.
It’s one thing I look at when I’m feeling… Not the best. Because it’s something that gives me some serotonin. Knowing that other people might also be struggling like I am and at the same time adding color to the campus. I know this isn’t much of a rant but it’s something to look out for because you’ll start to notice the correlation everywhere. New hairstyles, homemade freshly cut bangs, piercings and much more start to show up as mental health goes down.
If your mental health does get to the point where you need to talk to someone Taylor Wilson is a great option on campus and the behavioral health center in Alva also has counselors you can talk to. I know this semester has been Ross but you never have to struggle through it alone. Find a group of friends that can help you get to where you need to be while not taking up your energy. Know when to say no and when to push things for to another day. If you haven’t looked it up the spoon theory is an amazing way to explain any sort of illness May that be mental or physical. That’s how me and my friends have explained it to each other for 3 years now. Someone might asks if you want to go to Walmart and you just go “Sorry I’m out of spoons for the day” and they don’t push because they know that you physically and mentally aren’t able to give of yourself anymore for that day.
I can’t stress finding the right friend group enough. The people around you directly affect your mental and your physical health. Cut toxic people, don’t want anyone standing your way of your dreams. It’s not worth it to fight to have these toxic people in your life you’ll feel a lot better when they’re gone.
One thing that I think it’s important to remember is that everyone deals with their mental health differently. So I start to seclude myself when I start to get depressed and I haven’t really found a way around that but other people latch on or get ” clingy ” when they’re sad or depressed So I advise you to know what your friends do so you know how to help them best. My friends can normally tell when my mental health starts to get bad because I do start to break seclude myself and they know that’s a warning sign sometimes before I realize what’s happening. And it’s nice to have people looking out for you like that.