Faryn B.
UVic Student Mental Health Guest Blogger
Hello Beauties! My name is Faryn and I am a 5th year student majoring in Sociology. At the beginning of my university career, I was more interested in business, but my fascination with mental health, sexuality/gender, our socially constructed society and feminism led me to follow my passion into Sociology. I am a member of the UVSS Peer Support Centre and am passionate about reducing the stigma and creating a community where we can reach out and get the support that is needed. I am a prairie girl and moving out to the west coast, as amazing as it has been, led me to face my own mental health, but also pushed me to understand myself, my struggles and my support system even more.
As this is my last year, I will soon be moving back to the prairies, working in a male dominated industry, where I will attempt to kick ass and educate those around me on the important topics I have tackled in Sociology, including mental health. I try to create a positive environment, and lead a positive life, sharing my story and opening up to you all will hopefully allow others to feel comfortable as well. If anything, I have found that my twenties have shaped me like no other, but here’s to making the best of them.
Be Who You Are, Love Who You Are
University for many is the first-time individuals come to terms with their mental health. I think this is one of the first generations where talking about mental health is not only okay but encouraged. Until university I wasn’t able to understand or accept that I am...
Reflecting on University and Anxiety
Six years later and I am less than six months away from graduating with my BScN. Nursing School and university in general has pushed me to great lengths. It’s hard to believe that six years ago I left my hometown to attend the University of Victoria. The past couple...
Student Mental Health Blog Contest 3rd Place: Solstice Blues
Coming home to Alaska in December feels like retreating into a snow globe. Emerald spruce trees are the only color in the winter, and even those are capped with snow. But coming home also means living with too-short days and nineteen-hour nights; we see...
Student Mental Health Blog Contest 2nd Place: Calming Your Racing Mind Using Meditation
“Wow, I finally feel like a human again”. For the last three years of my degree, this is precisely how I have felt around this time of the year. University―and more specifically, the final exam period―can make me feel like a robot. For me, the last weeks...
Student Mental Health Blog Contest Winner: Ways Into Wellness
University can get stressful. Any university student knows this. For me, the stress comes and goes depending on how many exams or projects I have due that week, but I always make sure to pause and take a moment for myself—no matter how small. I suffer from anxiety,...
3 Steps to Managing Panic in High-Stress Situations
This featured guest blog post is written by Meera, a UVic student majoring in Psychology. Check out her blog "Pause. Breathe. Repeat." to read more! I’m sure you’ve encountered your fair share of panic-inducing high-pressure situations. You check your...
Nature, Art, Sleep & Pray
This is a picture I took on a trip to Red Rock Nevada, a week in this beautiful landscape and my mind felt so relieved. On one of the days we went to Las Vegas instead, and let me tell you, I could feel the anxiety engulf me there. Sometimes it’s hard to quantify the...
Authenticity
Humans are inherently social beings. Even the most introverted among us crave some level of interaction and even physical touch. However, in my life, and I am beginning to find increasingly in others’ as well, relationships have been one of the most harrowing and...
Things People Think They Know About My Diagnoses
“If suffering like hers had any use, she reasoned, it was not to the sufferer. The only way that an individual's pain gained meaning was through its communication to others.” ― Diane Wood Middlebrook, Anne Sexton: A Biography My name is Ilia Fernandez and I’m in my...
Transitions
Autumn is a season of transition. Change. Slowly, the trees are shedding emerald garb in favour of majestic reds, browns and orange. Temperatures are declining, and the first sting of frost becomes apparent as the sun drops away behind the mountains each night. Here,...