Browsing: mental health

Life, conflict and growth are uncomfortable. When every uneasy emotion becomes a diagnosis, we lose resilience. Instead of asking, “Why do I feel this way?” we ask, “What do I have?” The question shifts from reflection to labeling.

Learn to love your scars, for your past self if no one else. I’ve had a prominent scar for most of my life. Learning to be proud of who I am and love the uniqueness it brings was a major part of becoming who I am today.

Color-coded calendars are filled to the brim with classes, shifts, workouts and hopefully blocking out time to eat in our busy schedules, while finding time with friends is treated like a luxury.

“Our philanthropy is impacting other people; it impacts everyone that walks into this room and every person that’s not in this room,” Camden, Maine, senior Ali Tassoni said. “I do think that every person, whether it’s directly or indirectly, has a relationship with mental health; it’s just cool to see that kind of impact, especially with college students.”

Despite the ideology that our culture and world have created, slow can be the most transformative and impactful speed at which to live our lives. Slowing down in a world of hurry and busyness allows you to truly see the plan God has for you.

In a world full of success and hustle culture, watching the friends you grew up with pack their bags to move to their dream city might spark feelings of insecurity. Despite this, it’s important to remember that everyone is on their own path, on their own time. It might not sound as glamorous as a packed U-Haul barreling its way to a new city, but returning to your hometown post-grad is just as fulfilling.

Starting a conversation with someone you haven’t talked to in a while can be stressful, but more times than not, making the effort to send a small text results in a renewal of a connection.

Dr. Ed Rogers, assistant director, training director and senior psychologist for the Counseling Center, said too much exposure to negative news affects one’s mental health. These effects occur because the human brain struggles to distinguish between remote and current threats.

On social media platforms, Baylor showcases images of its beautiful campus, smiling students and graduate success stories, all reinforcing a promise of personal, academic and professional achievement. While these photos of perfection and happiness are a nice visual, they do not accurately reflect the stress and competitive nature many students, myself included, experience behind the scenes.

The Bible counters self-love culture’s mantra of independence, and instead it teaches us that we are made whole through utter dependence on God and engagement with the community of the Church.

Stress is real. Overwhelm is real. Mental health struggles are real. But not every moment of discomfort, pressure or frustration is a crisis. When we label everything as one, we do real harm to people experiencing genuine emergencies and who rely on systems designed to respond to true crises.

Zoos get a pretty bad rap. For a place filled with furry friends and fantastical creatures, you’d expect the general sentiment toward them would be slightly positive, if not outright supportive.

It’s so easy to blame the phone, but the truth is, the phone isn’t forcing us to do anything. It’s our own habits that are out of control. Technology is neutral; it becomes what we make of it.

In the desert, there was no air conditioner humming, no cars passing or machinery whirring. There were no signs of humanity; I was extremely uncomfortable, and that’s exactly why I think everyone should experience camping.

Human interaction can’t compete with the dopamine spike that social media provides. The attention economy has made focus a rare commodity. Every app is engineered to pull us back in, fragmenting not just our time, but our relationships. Friendship now competes with algorithms designed to hijack our curiosity.

The hardest version of forgiveness isn’t about someone else’s mistakes. It’s about your own. It’s easier to extend grace to people who hurt us than it is to look back and forgive the person we used to be.

What is struggle if not the deciding point between failure and success? It is at this inflection point where I believe indispensable value is found. A value that doesn’t only pertain to a moment, but transcends that moment and becomes a life lesson.