Hey everyone, recently I’ve been having a lot of conversations about mental health with my friends. It’s interesting to see how different people view mental health and hear how other people handle it in their own life. Since we’re talking about mental health on campuses, I figured, what better way to see how mental health affects students than to ask them? I interviewed my friend Jennipher and here’s what she said:
Me: Tell me about yourself.
Jennipher: I’m Jennipher Shihundu, I’m a psych major at UVic. I’m in my 3rd year. I’m from Richmond but, originally, I’m Kenyan. What do I like to do in my free time? Well I like YouTube, haha. A large chunk of my time is spent on YouTube. I watch Divorce Court a lot, and Dr. Phil. I like to play guitar and sing. Yeah, just also, like, hanging out with my friends, and my comrades -she laughs-.
Me: So what does mental health mean to you?
J: I think mental health is all encompassing. I think a lot of the time we think that you have a healthy mental well-being if you don’t have any serious mental disorders – if you’re not severely depressed or have bipolar disorder – but I definitely think mental health includes things like your stress levels, your internal dialogue, what you think about yourself and what you say to yourself. It’s way more than just what’s in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).
Me: What do you do to improve your own mental health?
J: I like to manage my stress, especially as a student, that’s my number one thing. I have a planner which helps me out a lot. I’m a visual learner so it helps me see when things are due three weeks in advance and makes it easier to work towards due dates. That’s the main way I manage my stress. I’m also working on improving the kinds of things I say to myself; I’m working on having a more positive internal dialogue.
Me: What advice do you have for first years learning how to balance school?
J: Firstly, don’t neglect your social life and the things that you like to do. You can get good grades while having an awesome social life. Don’t neglect your friends just to get good grades, that’s not balance. What else? Find ways that help you manage your stress. For some people that may be exercising. -Jokingly- That wouldn’t work for me because exercise in itself is quite stressful. Find what works for you, though, and always remember to balance. Don’t just party all night and throw caution to the wind and not care about anything that has to do with school, but also don’t only study day in and day out and that’s all you do. Neither sides of that spectrum are mentally healthy.
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I agree with what she said. Most importantly, find something that works for you. In my case, I find keeping a planner to be tedious and time-consuming and I think exercise is a great stress relief. Maybe you agree with me, or maybe you feel more like Jennipher. Whatever the case is, always remember to take care of your needs and never be too scared to ask for help when you need it. Special thanks to Jennipher Shihundu for agreeing to the interview!
Enjoy the beautiful weather folks,
Malaika
The views expressed in this blog are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of the University of Victoria. I monitor posts and comments to ensure all content complies with the University of Victoria Guidelines on Blogging.