In just one split second, stress can hit you harder than Muhammed Ali on his best day. Within the span of one hour, my distress went from zero to sixty as if it was an asshole trying to compensate for the tiniest insecurity at an empty intersection. Within the hour of 5:30 to 6:30 pm, I found out that my parents were pulling me out of my summer study abroad program to see the Tokyo Olympics because of the alarming spread of the Corona Virus. While yes I was disappointed, I could not help but immediately worry about something I could not control–my boyfriend. He is currently serving in the Navy and has orders to deploy to Japan later this spring. While I have the choice to defer my trip in hopes of maintaining my health, he cannot. Within this same hour, my dad admitted himself into the Shady Grove Hospital for reasons that my mom didn’t even know at the time. Thankfully, all he had was a five-millimeter kidney stone, yes I know that it’s still going to be a bitch to pass, but in the grand scheme of things, it could’ve been much worse. In that single hour, my heart sunk to my stomach and I felt as though I could lose two of the most important people in my life. 

Why is it that we tend to stress the most about things we cannot control? My roommate laughed when I asked her if she was stressed at that moment, the words “of course I am, don’t be stupid” rang through the air. I proceeded to follow up and discuss what it was that causes her stress. She was stressed about school, obviously, but also swimming. She is a D1 athlete, which in reality is an on-campus job, and is stressed about how her team was going to place at their conference meet. She could only control her events, but many of the swimmers had been sick or injured for most of the season and that lack of training worried her. 

Similarly, another one of my friends stated with such confidence that it seemed like a medal on her chest that she is “stressed always.” Her classes, social life, and family’s expectations are always on her mind– she is trying to create the perfect trifecta that almost always comes at the cost of mental stability. 

While we each find stress in different aspects of our lives, we all agree that the campus does provide some semblance of help. The consensus, however, was that “they have it, but it seems like no one uses it and it’s really a shame.” The university provides ‘free’ (nothing is ever truly free) student counseling services, different RSOs designated to helping the wellbeing of the student body, and occasional dog therapy on the green– because who doesn’t love it when a giant fluff ball licks your face in admiration. 

I find it hard to believe that a generation that seems so eager to boast about and take on added unnecessary stress doesn’t devote the time to also fix the issues that cause stress. I believe that there is almost a romanticized bubble around mental health. People use the expressions ‘I’m going to kill myself’ or ‘that’s so depressing’ so fluently that there is no perceived way to distinguish if one is joking or if its a cry for help. I find the most annoying thing that someone can do is try to one-up another person based on how bad one’s life is. Why is it that we must feel like the world is only out to get us and can’t find it in ourselves to simply listen and empathize with what the other person is experiencing? It, to me, seems like it should be of the utmost importance to reach out to a trained professional rather than your friends at that point. A trained professional will listen and offer advice rather than say ‘damn, that sucks, but at least you don’t have only 200 likes on your insta post like I do.” 

As a generation, we need to take mental illness more seriously and seek the help we need. If a problem goes on too long without a solution dier circumstances will occur. I refuse to let myself go without seeking the help I need anymore. And most importantly, I refuse to let my kids grow up thinking that having depression or anxiety is something that doesn’t need to be addressed.