Dark days come and go. The clouds fade. The rain dries. But for some, the sun never comes.
Getting out of bed in the morning becomes one’s biggest accomplishment of the day. The people and things once loved and adored begin to slip. Sadness deepens and dreary emotions become heavier and heavier.
Or maybe it’s not sadness, but constant fear. A nagging voice that screams and whispers anxious thoughts ceaselessly. The rough spot in the mind that makes one afraid to speak, afraid to attend an event, afraid to do once enjoyable things. The stress builds, but the release never comes.
Even those who don’t feel these mental strains day after day still have moments when they may look over a bridge and wonder “what if?” or don’t have the strength to survive five more minutes of small talk and would rather curl up in bed.
We all have experiences of sadness, depression and anxiety at ranging varieties and levels. Most of the time, we just ignore these painful dips in life, afraid to let anyone know how dark it can be inside.
The stigma and fear of admitting to these feelings is something that needs to end, especially during the period of college life and young professionalism where the rates of depression, stress and other mental illnesses are at a frightening level.
Suicide attempts and thoughts of suicide are the highest among people ages 18 to 25, and it is estimated that one in ten college students have made plans for suicide. (Just imagining one of your ten closest friends planning to take their life is enough to make anyone shudder.)
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Many colleges and universities are aware of the problems their students are facing and provide programs to help any situation. However, some students aren’t even aware of these programs or don’t feel as if these services could help their specific problems.
Here at the University of Florida, a plethora of services can be found for any type of problem or crisis, no matter how big or small.
U Matter, We Care
“U Matter, We Care isn’t a service by itself. U Matter, We Care is more of a campus wide initiative to encourage our campus to really create a culture of care [...] and not just passively watch one of our own community members struggle but will actively reach out to or on behalf of somebody who is struggling with any variety of issues whether it’s a medical issue, mental health issue, family crisis, personal crisis or academic concerns,” said Tanja Philhower, the Assistant Dean and Case Manager for the Dean of Students who helps manage U Matter, We Care. “The idea being our campus isn’t just a place where people will slip through the cracks.”
If a UF student, faculty or staff member is searching for a service of any kind, their first step should be to contact U Matter by email (), which is monitored 7 days a week.
Whether one is referring him or herself or someone else, U Matter will respond to that person the same day, unless the message comes late at night and will encourage the person to come meet with them or connect them to a service that’ll be a better fit, depending on the situation.
When a student comes into U Matter, a full assessment is taken to see how the student is doing academically, emotionally, physically and what kinds of support they already have and need in order to fully understand each person’s individual problems.
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Even if U Matter connects the student to another service, they still make an effort to be a source of support to the student as well.
“We work with students who have attempted suicide all the way to students who are having a difficult time adjusting to their first semester on campus and are feeling homesick, and everything inbetween. We deal with so many different and unique situations, [reasons to come in are] really anything you could think of that could negatively affect a student’s time here,” said Philhower.
U Matter has student employees who work in the office, answer general questions and set up appointments. Only four professional employees are currently working in the office, but U Matter is still a relatively new service with potential to expand.
If there is an immediate emergency, U Matter recommends contacting a Crisis Hotline (Alachua County Crisis Center 352-392-1575) or the Counseling and Wellness Center after hours counseling line (352-392-1265). If the situation is severe contact campus police or the community police.
UF Counseling and Wellness Center (CWC)
“The [CWC] provides a variety of different services to register students and also students who have been registered the semester prior or in an upcoming semester can see us for a small fee,” said Dr. Meggen Sixbey, the Associate Director for Crisis and Emergency Resources Center and the Counseling and Wellness Center. “We provide individual counseling, couples counseling, group counseling and we also have biofeedback labs, which is a program to help students reduce their stress and anxiety that comes out in a physical way.”
Along with these services, CWC also provides self-help guides on their website, workshops every semester and can connect people with community providers or psychiatric advisors. CWC is also bond to confidentiality, so anyone can feel safe coming in and talking about any problem.
Dr. Sixbey works directly in the CERC. She explains that CERC is a satellite office for CWC located on campus, 4th floor of Peabody Hall, that’s easier for student access because CWC is on Radio Rd.
CERC provides the same services as their main office, along with the crisis component, where a counselor is always on duty during office hours.
“I think that the most important thing is that if you’re worried about yourself or somebody else come in one time, because sometimes the hardest thing to do is to take that initial step, and nine times out of 10 folks find that it’s not as bad or as scary as they thought it would be,” said Dr. Sixbey, “Then we really can get folks connected to the resources that’ll be the best fit for them and that might not be individual counseling [...] but it might actually be a group counseling session or it may actually be a biofeedback session. So just come and take that initial step to break the ice.”
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CWC and U Matter also provide services for their online students. CWC offers a therapy assistant online program, which is a secure system similar to Skype. Online students complete a few online modules and then have a Skype-ish online session with a counselor. However, the online student must be living in the state of Florida in order to use CWC’s online services because CWC’s licensing laws won’t allow its program to cross state lines. Online students who are out of state are allowed to have a brief phone consultation, and CWC will try to connect them to a service in the student’s residential state. For U Matter, anyone can email them, and they’re able to set up phone and Skype appointments.
Some signs of a person in distress may be, but are not limited to: an increase or decrease in weight, change in sleeping patterns, change in social patterns, negative change in study habits, jokes about suicide or depression, substance abuse, isolation and unwillingness to seek help.
If you’re currently a registered UF student in any year, you’re able to contact these services if you feel like you or someone you know may be distressed in any way. Help end the stigma of counseling. Set an example by taking advantage of these powerful services or encouraging someone in need to get the help they deserve.
Featured photo courtesy of: Unsplash
