Mental health, for me, is the most important subject a person should research and have a deep inner conversation with himself later. Society has now generally accepted the idea of life not being travel from point A to point B, but a journey full of obstacles and overcoming. Even though mental health issues had stigma and fear surrounding them in the 20th century, we can now address them right away. While some mental health issues are widely known as people face them in everyday life, judging from personal experience, college students may also encounter mental health struggles in their academic activities.
Although some types of mental health issues a college student usually faces might come from childhood traumas, some of them are appropriated in the grown-up period, as happened in my case. Furthermore, the real problem with mental health issues is that they are initially unnoticeable. A person would probably not address that something is wrong with him unless another individual points it out.
Probably the most common secluded mental health issue nowadays amongst young people is anxiety. Despite some may confuse nervousness with anxiety, they are quite easy to tell apart for me. For example, nervousness only connects to stress and occurs on occasional events like presenting a project; it usually goes away right after the event and does not stay for a long time. Finals is the usual time for me to get anxiety because it appears from continuous stress and forms gradually. Physical symptoms like heart palpitations could distinguish anxiety, body trembling, and breath shortage; it might feel like the mind suddenly goes blank. A good method of overcoming the issue that I have learned is called the 3-3-3 rule; it distracts the mind from stress for a short time. The 3-3-3 rule helps me to let go of worries and quickly restore the breathing shortage.
A frequent result of continuous worries and mental exhaustion a student could face is called academic burnout. Academic burnout’s symptoms include fatigue, insomnia, lack of motivation, loss of self-confidence, inability to concentrate, and sensitivity to critique. Academic burnout may cause serious problems with student’s academic scores if not treated properly and in time. From personal experience, the prevention method is the key in this case, especially for students majoring in mathematics, as numbers and digits studies are easily tiresome. The prevention method includes physical exercises, spending more time outside, and following a well-managed schedule with the right balance of studying and social activities.
Meanwhile, due to pandemic and distant education, following a schedule and spending time outside became troublesome. Loneliness and lowered self-esteem, as well as the inability to interact socially, became my main concerns. The aftermath of the lockdowns and social distancing included a lack of attention, motivation, and concentration. While the therapy for those cases is not well defined yet, it is highly advised to stay in the positive lane of thinking, spend more time busy and away from the phone and social media. I, personally, try to abstract from negative thoughts and put all of my frustration into energy for studying.
In conclusion, there is a huge variety of mental health issues a college student may face in academic activities. Thinking that the obstacles that I must overcome during my studying years will shape me into a high-class professional makes it easier for me. Besides, everything a person puts into the world around him and into his work comes from within, and that is why mental health and inner peace are highly important for professionals. While being a math major takes plenty of time and effort, positive thoughts about professional success in the future and a high motivational level keep my mental health safe.