Suicide Prevention Week. Talk About It: Mental Health on Campus. Togetherall. Lopes for Hope. The Bandanna Project. 

Recently, the UNK community increased efforts to advocate for mental health resources.

The Antelope staff would like to encourage students to keep these conversations going. 

We wonder if the sudden increase in mental health resources is the university’s response to the post-COVID period. 

A pandemic hit the world during our transition to young adulthood: from high school to college, college to real-life. For some, the COVID-19 created a fear of normal, otherwise referred to as FONO.

According to the National Library of Medicine, COVID-19 patients are more prone to anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Physicians, nurses and medical residents are suffering from insomnia along with these conditions.

If a pandemic wasn’t stressful enough, social justice movements sparked pertaining to Black Lives Matter, women’s rights and many more minorities. Some are still dealing with stigmas related to the coronavirus vaccine or masks. 

Despite the division, it’s nice to have a topic we can all be united for: mental health.

We suggest students get involved with Lopes for Hope,  newly approved organization that certifies students in suicide prevention. The Bandanna Project helps keep the meaning of Suicide Prevention Week alive past the allotted time.Proudly wear those green bandannas.

Join the efforts surrounding MaKenna’s Rae of Hope or attend the meetings of Talk About It: Mental Health on Campus. These resources are all fine and dandy, but they can’t make an impact if students don’t turn to them in times of need. 

Togetherall is a potentially helpful resources, but we are concerned how the anonymity of it will affect the mental health conversation.

Students can also register disabilities such as clinical depression with UNK Disability Services. Professors at UNK want to help their students be successful. It’s best if they know how.

However, a big barrier that needs to be addressed is the wait time to receive counseling services from Student Health. 

If a student is determined enough to receive counseling, they can turn to graduate students who are studying similar fields. Those graduate students need the experience to pass through their degree program, so we might as well utilize this resource. 

College is stressful enough, aside from issues outside of campus. We need not mention managing workloads, juggling classes, making friendships, becoming independent and the list goes on. 

Let’s continue to support each other during these times.