University of Regina student Emmanuel Inkotariah is bouncing back from a tough semester which helped him realize the importance of mental well-being.
“The semester has been pretty good so far, but,” said Inkotariah, a third-year computer science major. “I still have mental stress from last semester, being burnt out.
“It is not easy to recover so soon. It’s going to be tough; I just have to find my way around it as I have done previously.”
Since COVID-19, the university continues to reinforce its commitment to mental health, focusing on empowering students to navigate academic stress and social connections with confidence.
“There was an increase in mental health conditions, like stress, anxiety and depression during the pandemic,” said Dr. Gordon Asmundson, the head of the Department of Psychology. “In university students, those rates are equally high and there can be a number of reasons for that.”
According to Statistics Canada, there is an 18% increase to almost 1.6 million people who reported mental health and substance abuse disorders since 2012.
The Student Mental Health Services has been rolling out various forms of treatment, from virtual therapy to inclusive psychological services catering to the diverse community present at the university.
“You break it down into small pieces and just keep chipping away at it, it involves time management and planning,” said Dr. Asmundson, “It sounds easy, but might not necessarily be. It becomes easier once you make it a habit.”
Deborah Cherian, a first-year student from the Faculty of Education said, “It’s been a good start, I definitely have work this semester so I do feel overwhelmed. Making sure I have good time management skills and don’t have to do everything in one day is important.”
Good personal care, physical activity, and engaging in social activities can go a long way in building resilience to various stressors.
“Identifying what causes you stress is important. It’s hard to address it and do something specific if we’re not sure what is bothering us,” said Dr. Asmundson.
“Sometimes feeling overwhelmed by due dates and assignments leads to stress, which leads to inaction, which leads to more stress.”
Awareness plays a big role in this; finding long-term solutions and building upon them is the key to tackling these challenges.
“My family is a lot of support for different things, staying organized and using music is a good way to take my mind off things,” said Isaac Mollison, a first-year PPE student in the Faculty of Arts.
Students admit that they are a tad apprehensive towards reaching for help and opening up about their struggles. A small change in the culture can go a long way.
“Typically, people don’t have a problem walking around with a cast or admitting they have a physical injury, but if we have any sort of emotional struggles, people often tend to hide those,” said Dr. Asmundson.
