10 ways to take care of your mental health as a college student

Taking care of your mental health and overall wellbeing (and taking care of each other) is vital when you’re in college. PLU is all about having your back, making sure you have the support you need, and fostering a community of care. When it comes to your mental, emotional and physical wellbeing, we’re all in this together.

The following list doesn’t cover everything we have on campus to help you navigate the ups and downs of college life, but it does give you some great starting points to make sure you’re taking care of yourself and your fellow students in the best ways possible.

1. Get involved

Being part of caring communities has many mental health benefits. PLU has A LOT of active clubs (more than 50!) where you can build your communities, connect with an affinity group, explore interests and talents, and develop your leadership skills.

Two student-led clubs with a specific focus on mental wellbeing are the Student Neurodiversity Club and NAMI on Campus. The Student Neurodiversity Club provides a supportive community on campus for neurodivergent individuals, offering a space to share their college and life experiences and discuss the challenges and triumphs that come with diverse disabilities. NAMI is a national organization with the goal of raising awareness on mental health and breaking the stigma, with a chapter on the PLU campus.

2. Stay active

Engaging in physical activity enhances your mental wellbeing by diminishing anxiety, depression, and negative mood, while simultaneously boosting self-esteem and cognitive function.

Our Names Fitness Center offers cardio and strength training equipment and is attached to Memorial Gym, where group exercise, intramural sports, and physical education classes are offered.

Love being outside? Outdoor Rec is PLU’s wilderness adventure club (think hiking, camping, kayaking, climbing, etc.). They lead trips pretty much every weekend around the Pacific Northwest, rent gear out to the PLU community, and provide the resources necessary for any adventure!

3. Nourish your body

Feeling physically healthy has a huge role in feeling mentally healthy, and you probably already know that a diet with diverse foods will help you in feeling your physical best. PLU’s campus cafes and market offer nutritionally sound (and yum) food options to help you fuel your body and mind. Our campus restaurants also make sure to accommodate any dietary restrictions you might have. Vegan, vegetarian, non-dairy? They got you covered!

Another great resource is the PLU Pantry, run by our Wellbeing Services and Resources (see #4 to learn more about WSR). Nationally, between 23-40% of college students experience food insecurity, and the PLU Pantry’s mission is to be “a resource to serve students, staff, and faculty who are experiencing food insecurity in any way.”

4. Utilize counseling, health & wellness services

PLU has a whole center committed to students’ overall wellbeing – our Wellbeing Services and Resources (WSR for short). Here’s what their website says: “Whether it’s mental and physical health, academic support, or basic needs, our dedicated team stands by your side by providing resources and care.”

WSR has Health Navigators and WSR Interns that can meet with you and help you find on-campus or community resources, including health insurance and mental health support. WSR also hosts different group meetings. This spring, they offered Beyond the Mask: Men’s + Group, Latinx Wellness Group, and Grief Group.

As part of WSR, PLU offers Counseling Services, a free resource to students. We have on-campus providers and have partnered with TimelyCare (online and phone mental and medical 24/7 care, along with success coaching).

5. When it comes to your academics, ask. for. help.

Yes, there’s the whole social side of college, but the primary reason you go to college is to earn a degree, right? Sometimes the academic expectations in college can feel really overwhelming, but there are two very important things to remember: #1 – there’s a reason you were admitted to college; you can do this! #2 – you can do this, but you don’t have to do it alone.

PLU professors are well-known for their deep care for students and have office hours throughout the week, so you can connect with questions and concerns or just chat.

And our Center for Student Success offers (free!) tutoring, studying resources, and professional academic advisors to help you navigate your college academics.

6. Join a learning community

Whether you live on- or off-campus, you’ll have the opportunity to be part of a PLU learning community. Want to live in a community specifically focused on promoting well-being? The Wellness House is a community of students who are interested in engaging in conversations and activities that promote and sustain healthy lifestyles. Or maybe you want to join the Diversity, Justice & Sustainability community, with residential wings for First in Family, Students of Color, Environmental & Social Justice, and LGBTQ+. Love expressing yourself through art, music, theatre, etc.? Check out the Community for Creative Expression. Or maybe your passion is all STEM, all the time. There’s a STEM House. (P.S. You can find all of our learning communities options here.)

7. Connect with the Office of Accessibility & Accommodation (OAA)

The PLU Office of Accessibility and Accommodation (OAA) is dedicated to ensuring equitable access and inclusion for all students. They serve students with either temporary or permanent physical, health, learning, sensory or psychological disabilities. You can partner with OAA, faculty, and staff to establish reasonable accommodations and services (at no cost) to receive equitable access to academic and co-curricular opportunities.

8. Build meaningful relationships

PLU has had long-standing values of diversity, justice and sustainability (DJS) – we even have an entire center dedicated to living out those values! The Center for Diversity, Justice & Sustainability is committed to working with students, faculty and staff to create equitable systems and relationships where everyone can thrive and offers a network of advocacy resources, including a (very comfy) community gathering space, facilitating identity programs and communities, hosting a variety of events and celebrations and providing students vital leadership opportunities.

9. Take care of your emotional/spiritual self

Taking care of your mental health means taking care of your emotional health, too. And for some people, an important part of mental and emotional health includes spiritual wellbeing. So here’s a stat: 94% of PLU students come from non-Lutheran faith backgrounds or have no religious affiliation at all, and we wholeheartedly welcome everyone with open arms.

Fortunately, our Lutheran heritage (we are Pacific Lutheran University, after all) means that we’re not ignoring the spiritual component of wellbeing thanks to an active Campus Ministry, which is fully committed to “welcoming, celebrating, and engaging people of all gender identities, gender expressions, sexual orientations, races, economic standings, documentation statuses, ages, faiths and spiritual orientations and practices, abilities, and ethnicities.” PLU Campus Ministry offers weekly chapel opportunities, interfaith working groups and events, a multi-faith meditation and prayer space, and supports our variety of religious-based student-led clubs.

We also have an amazing full-time campus pastor on campus, who is here to provide pastoral care for all students, no matter their religious background and faith journey.

10. Know who to contact in a crisis

There are three different resources we want to highlight here, all available if you or someone in your PLU communities finds themselves in a crisis: Urgent/Emergency Resources, Advocacy Services, and Campus Safety.

This Urgent/Emergency Resources page has up-to-date virtual and community resources for 24/7 medical and mental health urgent/emergency situations.

Advocacy Services includes PLU’s Confidential Advocate, who can offer a safe, private setting for individuals who have questions or concerns about sexual assault, stalking, intimate partner violence or domestic violence. Those who speak with an advocate can share as much or as little information about their situation as they like.

And Campus Safety, also a 24/7 resource, is well trained to respond to and help in emergency situations.

Please seek immediate help if you or someone you know is feeling that life isn’t worth living or if you are having thoughts of harming yourself or others. You can also contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.