Mental health on college campuses is sometimes overlooked, so we need to bring more awareness to this topic to reassure all students that WSU cares about their mental state.

Students often deal with the pressure of adult issues while trying to stay on top of school and other organizations or communities they are active in.

When talking to those outside of the WSU community about issues students go through, we often either get brushed aside or confirmation that everything is going to be OK, but sometimes we need a little more than that.

“[We should] help the person in need of guidance to understand that they can live a more flexible life than they thought [was expected of them],” said Dan Neighbors, faculty psychology resident and outreach coordinator for Cougar Health Services.

Neighbors works directly with clients to discuss their personal issues and resources for treatment and support.

During a student’s time in college, he said, it is chaotic to deal with environmental change, making new friends and all the other things that come with being a college student.

Mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse are what we see more on college campuses and it can worsen over time if not treated.

College students have one of the greatest levels of stress. It is proven that college is the most stressful time of life due to all the issues students have to take on day-by-day while learning how to “adult” at the same time.

As students, we don’t realize how much is on our plate until we lay it out on a planner or just suddenly start to realize when completing assignment after assignment.

Feeling burnt out and unmotivated is common once we start to do this daily, but don’t forget to make time for yourself. Self-care and other forms of relaxation can really ease some of the stress.

We need to remind our students about healthier ways of life. There is nothing wrong with taking “me time” to recollect yourself, so you can be prepared to tackle all the other things you have going on in your daily life.

Most people in college or have been to college for some reason like to brag about how much sleep they didn’t get or the bad habits they have produced over time.

As the newest generation of college students, we should be held accountable to promote better habits like regular eating schedules, better sleeping habits and less binge drinking. We have to make changes to promote better lifestyle habits and try harder to implement them in our daily lives.

We all can say we need help, but things won’t change unless we allow ourselves to change them. For example, reassurance from family members and close loved ones is often what students want but never ask for.

Sometimes the pressure from family is what holds us back from doing what we are really passionate about in life, but mental health disorders are not something that we choose. They develop and need to be treated over time.

As students, always remember to be kind and caring to those around you. You never know what they could be going through.