Mental Health College Guide
Mental Health College Guide

We’re Here For You!

If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or feel at risk of suicide:

Call 988 to speak with someone now

Go to your nearest emergency room

Get a list of mental health and suicide prevention resources HERE

For any other emergency, please dial 911

Self-Care For Students & Educators

Self-care is quickly becoming an important part of our culture. Self-care means doing things that improve quality of life by taking the time to work on physical and mental health. With regard to mental health, self-care is about doing the things that recharge, rejuvenate, and re-energize. Practicing self-care can help educators be better equipped to assist students; while for students, it can help them be better equipped to maintain a positive outlook on school and life.

Mental health is more than the absence of a mental illness—it’s essential to your overall health and quality of life. Self-care can play a role in maintaining your mental health and help support your treatment and recovery if you have a mental illness.

Burnout is mental and emotional exhaustion, which can also show up as physical exhaustion. It’s caused by repeated or extended stress usually associated with work-related experiences. Practicing self-care can help prevent burnout, but it’s also important for educational institutions to take steps to help educators and students avoid burnout. Some self-care practices that can help include regular exercise, addressing any sleep issues or making sleep a priority, talking with a mental health professional, and taking time off when needed.

Burnout exists because we’ve made rest a reward rather than a right

There are many ways to practice self-care. It’s all about finding what helps the individual feel better both physically and mentally for the long term. Here are some simple ideas and exercises you can try for yourself or suggest to students when discussing self-care.

4-7-8 Breathing Technique to Calm Mind & Body Shoulder Stretch Scribbling, Drawing, or Coloring Technique
Sit in a comfortable position with a straight back and gently close eyes
Breathe deeply through the nose and slowly count to 4
Hold the breath for a count of 7
Exhale slowly through the mouth for a count of 8
Repeat the 4-7-8 cycle several times
Clasp hands behind the back
Push the chest outward, and raise the chin
Hold the pose for 10 to 30 seconds
Repeat several times
Distressing or repetitive thoughts can be calmed by doodling, drawing, or coloring. It doesn’t matter what is drawn, doodled or colored, simply the act of focusing on these calming, creative tasks can help ease and shift the mind.

Pay attention to the activities and experiences that help you feel strong and connected, and make these things part of your regular self-care routine. This could be anything from going to a weekly appointment at the campus counseling center to doing karaoke with friends (yes, this can count as an act of self-care!).

It’s really important to have an awareness around positive coping strategies that work for you, so you can turn to the positive ones in times of need. I have a list of five practices that I do religiously every single day and I think of these practices as setting me up for success.

Being mindful of the situations and moments that are known to be more stressful for students is essential to being supportive during these times. These are events like:

  • Exams
  • Project due dates.
  • Papers.
  • Thesis defenses.

Being supportive means being proactive and helping students mitigate their stress so they can be more successful. Some things an educator can do to help students deal with known stressors include:

  • Consider flexible deadlines to empower students.
  • Giving time between deadlines
  • Understanding that students have multiple classes
  • If a student is struggling, consider giving them an incomplete (if allowed by the college) and helping them find a topic or assignment they find more manageable.

Burnout exists because we’ve made rest a reward rather than a right