HOW I TAKE CARE OF MY MENTAL HEALTH AT UNIVERSITY

When I have a bad mental health day far away from home, the thing I miss the most is comfort. Being surrounded by familiar things and places always helps me. At university, I sometimes feel like I am far away from comfort. So, over the three years I spent at this university, I found a couple of places and things that bring back this sense of comfort and safety around me.

I go to a couple spots at the university when I have really bad anxiety just to have a corner to myself where I can find calmness. I also attend a few workshops when I feel like talking to somebody. At university, there are a lot of resources for the mental health of students. 

When I have a rush of anxiety out of nowhere, I find comfort in the libraries at U of T. I sometimes go to the 10th or 11th floor at Robarts and find myself just walking around the books or sitting near a bookshelf. It's really quiet and I am surrounded by the thing I love most- books. I play some music over my airpods and just hangout there. The beautiful aesthetics of the UC libraries also help me relax and I grab a corner table where I can just do some work and unwind.

On the CLNx website, there are some really great workshops that I attend when I feel like I need to talk to someone. Some of my favorite ones are the Virtual Accountability Check-Ins and ADHD group sessions . This week, in support of  mental health, there is ASD Peer Connections for Women & Trans Students, Pathways to Wellness and a workshop on How Identity Impacts Learning. These particular workshops will help guide students on how they can find comfort with whatever problems/ issues they are facing.

Lastly, Health and Wellness at U of T provides support with mental health resources, counseling sessions from a licensed therapist and Peer Connections. Health and Wellness also offers same day appointments. As a part of your university health insurance, students are also covered up to $1500 worth of therapy sessions from a private clinic/ registered psychologists.

There are many resources provided by the University, I found that I just needed to dig a little and find what provides me comfort here at university.