Today – 10/10/22 – is World Mental Health Day. There are so many issues that affect our mental health. Many members of campus are collaborating to address environmental and systemic issues that may affect our community’s well-being. One strategy is removing barriers to accessing supportive resources.
Remember there are places to get help if you or a friend need it. The Heels Care Network is your gateway to find that support and get connected.
UNC-Chapel Hill Resources: There are many supports for your mental health and wellbeing – from CAPS to peer support to spaces centering cultural needs or specific mental health issues. Visit the Mental Health Resource Hub to find a resource to support you. If the site feels overwhelming and you want help navigating campus resources, chat into the LSN Peer Support live chat.
We are in this together here at Carolina. Look out for each other, and do what you can to help address the well-being of all community members. Thank you for being a part of our community of care!
Written and compiled by CAPS staff members Kyle Alexander, LCSW and Kadeisha Bonsu, LCSWA
It’s hard to believe that we’ve been coping with the mental strain of Covid-19 for 10+ months now. Many of us have spent a good amount of that time stuck inside, missing family and friends, so it’s totally normal if you feel more down or isolated than usual this winter. You are not alone.
We at UNC CAPS want to be here for you and wanted to share some ideas for self-care ideas during these last few weeks before the semester begins. CAPS staff is here for you so please don’t hesitate to call us to speak with a therapist anytime 24/7 for support (919) 966-3658.
Get Creative!
Many of us don’t identify as artists, but all of us have creative abilities. Let out your inner child. Dance around, color, draw, paint, make up a song, host a zoom talent show…it doesn’t need to be perfect; you just need to have fun.
Take Baths
Take a moment to disengage from the world with your favorite music, some candles, and a hot bath. Baths can help relieve muscle tension and stress. If you’re having trouble sleeping, some studies indicate that going from a hot bath to a cold bedroom can help your body fall asleep faster.
Play Video Games
Distanced from your friends who may be living far away from you right now? Plug in your favorite multi-player video game and instantly connect. Distraction is helpful in moderation and can be a heathy way to escape for a moment. There are a ton of fun video games out there both on your mobile phone and console to explore. If it’s too cold to go outside into nature, check-out some of these nature inspired games that are fun to play with friends and bring nature indoors.
Read
With more time inside, put down the phone, turn off the electronics and pick up that book you’ve been wanting to read. Escape into that science fiction series, or start that book that’s been on your shelf forever.
Books feeling too long to commit to right now? How about exploring shorter poems that are speaking to you right now.
Don’t know what book to choose? the book you’re looking for?, check-out GoodReads.com for book recommendations. For those in the Chapel Hill area already, you can request books from UNC libraries, or through inter-library loan.
Choose a Theme
Pick a theme for each day or each week depending on the length of your staycation. Include things that address various areas of wellness i.e., emotional, financial, spiritual, physical, etc. Themes you might consider are Zoom-Free Wednesday, Financially-Fit Friday, Self-Care Saturday… doesn’t matter the day, just have fun and get creative!
Listen to Podcasts
Feeling isolated or lonely while socially distancing? We all are. You are not alone. Community and human interaction are important for the psyche, and when coronavirus makes that hard, tune into your favorite podcast to immerse yourself in a digital community.
Next time you are folding laundry or on a walk, play your favorite podcast and instantly you can feel like you are not alone. There are thousands of different types of podcasts (comedy, history, news, etc.), pick which one is right for you and click play.
A great Podcast option to check out is Feeling Seen, hosted by Dr. Erinn Scott, Psy.D. and Dr. Anthony Teasdale, Ph.D., staff psychologists at CAPS. These colleagues and friends come together to discuss and demystify mental health, therapy, and help seeking, and have some fun in the process. This podcast speaks directly to UNC and its students, giving listeners a more personal side of CAPS and its staff. There’ll be insights, laughs, and mistakes, but always with the intention of reducing stigma and helping people “feel seen.” Find it on all the places you listen: Spotify | YouTube | Anchor | Google Podcasts | Apple Podcasts
Go for a Hike
Those of us who are privileged to live in the Triangle are able to access numerous hiking trails in the area.
Wherever you are, the best way to find a trail that works for you is to ask friends for recommendation or go online for lists of best hikes in the area. The All Trails application is a great free tool to download to search and filter the top-rated hikes based on your location.
Winter break is a great time to explore parts of Chapel Hill you haven’t yet. Try walking across the street from campus and check-out the free North Carolina Botanical Garden.
Camp
Camping is a great activity to escape into nature and be socially distanced with friends. North Carolina has a ton of nature and camp sites for you to explore this season.
Bike
We know it’s cold out there, but regular exercise can act like an anti-depressant in itself. This Winter continue to challenge yourself to keep moving and get outside as much as possible. Biking is a great way to get some cardio in, but also explore. Check out these bike rental resources on-campus:
Move.unc.edu offers reduced price U-Locks and free bike registration.
Eat
Outdoor dining under a heat lamp, takeout, or curbside pickup could be a nice treat for you and your friends. Maybe it’s time to pick a new type of food or restaurant you’ve been wanting to explore on Franklin! Or it’s about time you checked out all the cool stuff Carrboro has to offer if you haven’t had the time to explore Carrboro during the school year.
Check-out this resource for most updated list of food option in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. In the mood for chicken or vegan wings? Heavenly Buffaloes is open on Franklin and has (outdoor dining, takeout and delivery). We haven’t been paid for this recommendation – it’s just that good.
Nadia_Snopek/Adobe Stock
Set Virtual Boundaries
Give yourself permission to say no to Zoom/video meetings, hangouts, etc. that are not necessary or can be rescheduled. It’s okay to honor yourself, recognize your zoom fatigue, and take some space from it. Be okay with saying no and cancelling/rescheduling anything that gets in the way of your well-being.
Transitioning back to the semester can be rough on mental health – take some time for you over the next few weeks!
These strategies aren’t a cure – instead, they can help decrease how intensely you may feel overwhelmed, allowing you to more effectively deal with the challenges you face.
Each only takes a few minutes but can make a big difference in the moment to help you reset your emotions.
Cool Off
You can regulate intense emotions by lowering your body temperature. For example, you could create a mini-plunge pool for your face by filling a bowl with ice water and submerging your face for 15-30 seconds (or as long as you can hold your breath!). Other techniques include walking outside and focusing on the breeze across your face, splashing your face with cold water, sticking your head or hand in the freezer, or holding an ice pack to your face. The coolness will slow your heart rate and help blood flow more easily to your brain. This turns off the fight, flight, or freeze response of your sympathetic nervous system which is activated when you’re intensely distressed. So cooling off your temp brings down the intensity of your emotional arousal and jars you out of being overwhelmed.
Pace Your Breathing
Adjusting your breath is something you can do whenever you’re feeling stressed out to reduce that stress. Paced breathing helps communicate to your amygdala and your nervous system that you’re not in any current danger, so it flips off the fight, flight or freeze response and activates rest and digest. It’s physiologically impossible to panic if you’re doing this correctly. Two parts to do this correctly – slow your breathing pace and initiate breath from your belly. Square breathing is one example to do this.
Anchor Yourself
It’s normal that when you’re in a crisis to spend a lot of time ruminating and experiencing distressing thoughts. So instead, stop. Step back. Take a deep breath. Physically center yourself by digging your heels into the floor to ground you in reality. Then take a moment to observe – what am I thinking? What am I feeling in my body? What am I doing? Then ask yourself if your response is helpful, aligns with your values now or if it’s stuck in the future or past. Taking that moment to step back to decide if our thoughts are helpful can get us out of rumination.
Music Medicine
Focusing on relaxing sounds reduces stress. One study compared a group who listened to Weightless or prescribed a benzodiazepine. The music was nearly as effective in easing patient anxiety as the medication, with no side effects. Explore your music options and tastes. Make a playlist of songs that you find comforting when you need a break, and aim for the songs that lift you up (rather than those that mirror your feelings of stress or loneliness).
Intense Exercise
Run in place, do jumping jacks, climb several flights of stairs, or put on music and dance. This can burn off nervous energy, help clear your brain and can be especially helpful when you’re experiencing emotions that are overwhelming and you feel numb. Movement can help you start feeling sensation in your body again.
Take some time to reset when you’re overwhelmed.
For further mental health support, call CAPS 24/7 at 919-966-3658.
We live in a society that places a lot of value on independence, but in truth, we are interdependent. Each of us does need other people to some degree. Participating in therapy is not a passive process. You are not “attending therapy”, or “getting therapy”. Therapists are not administering something to you. Therapy is an active, collaborative process of figuring out life. Therapists do have some specialized knowledge about mental health, but we act as guides, not fixers. In fact, but of the unique aspects of therapy is that therapists act as guides, not as fixers.
2. If my friends and family can’t help me, how will someone I don’t even know help me?
Friends and family play extremely vital roles in our lives, and there is no substitute for those types of relationships. Often the people in our life have a vested interest in what we choose to do or in what direction we move. The role of a therapist is very different. When you go to therapy, the first task is for the therapist to be able to understand your hopes and goals, because your agenda is our agenda. Sometimes family and friends have the tendency to try to make things better for you. Therapists are trained to help you find the tools to make things better for yourself.
3. It’s not that bad. I’m not crazy. Therapy is a last resort for me.
People participate in therapy for a wide variety of reasons.
Sometimes things in their lives are pretty bad when they initiate therapy.
Sometimes they start treatment because they aren’t feeling fulfilled, or because something in life feels “off”. They want to not simply get through each day, but instead want to thrive. Sometimes students come to therapy because they are aware that academic stress is unavoidable and they want to learn strategies to manage it before it starts to create problems. At UNC Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), we work with people throughout the whole spectrum, between preventing problems before they start and treating issues before they begin.
Mental Health is similar to physical health in that it is often a quicker, easier process if you take a proactive approach. I often hear from students who have recurrent depression that the first episode was the worst, in part because they didn’t know to take action until things felt completely unmanageable.
Stigma is real. Often times we are socialized to have some negative feelings towards individuals with mental health disorders and towards seeking mental health treatment. Where have you heard some of those messages? What do you believe? How might you overcome the stigma associated with seeking services?
4. Therapy is too _____________________ (Expensive, Time Consuming)
There is no arguing with that. Participating in therapy definitely takes time (typically 45-60 minutes weekly). It also may require a financial investment. Although CAPS brief therapy services are free, there are times when students may start off with or transition to a community provider, where there will likely be a copay.
Often when I meet with students, their symptoms are impacting their ability to be as successful as they could be academically. Their friendships or relationships with loved ones may be impacted. Anxiety, for example, could make it extremely difficult for a person to concentrate and learn new material, and to seek frequent reassurance from friends, or to avoid social situations altogether. Also, some of the symptoms they are experiencing are painful. They are in real distress. Can you relate to this? How are the issues you are having impacting your quality of life?
If one part of the equation is the cost/time/effort, please remember to include the other side of the equation- the impact the symptoms are having on your well-being.
In Conclusion
Therapy is not for everyone. But therapy is helpful for some people, and it just may be that it could be helpful to you. But don’t take my word for it! See if therapy can help you. The best way to get something out of therapy:
Come in with some goals in mind.
Ask your therapist questions.
If you don’t feel as if the first person you see is a good fit, work with someone else.
Monitor your symptoms and your progress toward your goals, and work with your therapist to get the most out of your time together.
Be open with your therapist about any concerns you have about the therapy process.
If you would like to initiate therapy or simply talk with a clinician more about your options for mental health services, please walk in to CAPS between the hours of 9*-12 and 1-4 M-F (8-5 if you have urgent concerns). *Friday morning initial appointments begin at 9:30 a.m.
Originally posted August 6, 2013. Revised and updated 2016.
This blog post was originally published on July 7, 2015.
Tar Heels, if you’re still hanging around the general vicinity of North Carolina this summer, you don’t need me to tell you it’s hot, but…OMG it’s sooooo hot! If you’re anything like me, a long string of hot days might make you complain a lot and think less clearly than you might otherwise.
Also, while the pictures on my Facebook feed tell me that this is vacation time for a lot of people…it might not feel like vacation time for all of us. Yes, NECESSITY, as well as our culture that socializes us to ideals of BUSY! and ACHIEVEMENTS!, can chase us down even into these summer months.
So, please allow me to be your Captain Obvious right now and give you a loving reminder:
Here is a comfy pink chair in the forest a person might sit in if they were taking a break.
Take a break.
Take a break! There are many ways to take a break today, this week, this month, this summer, even if you’re jamming out in Summer Session II and can’t afford a beach condo for the next decade. Here are some ideas to get your creative break-making juices flowing:
Finish reading this blog post and then turn off whatever screen you’re looking at for at least 5 minutes. Feeling brave? Do it in silence. Feeling tense? Think about relaxing each part of your body, starting with the toes and working your way up. It’s just 5 minutes. You can do it. Too easy? Make a summer resolution to do this every day and see what happens.
Call a friend you haven’t talked to in a long time and catch up.
Commit to listening to an entire album you haven’t heard ever or haven’t heard in a long time. Do it in one sitting. Invite some buddies over for a listening party.
Take a social media hiatus. Y’all. I haven’t been on Facebook for 3 days and I feel like a new person right now.
Drink some water. It’s hot.
Do something you haven’t done since you were a kid. Is there a swing set at your apartment complex? Can you get your hands on a pool noodle? Are there old board games for sale at PTA Thrift Shop? Where are those crayons your roommate was waving around? Can you YouTube your favorite old cartoon?
I will keep this short so you can go back to studying.
As you know, finals are here. Having a significant other during finals can provide critical social and emotional support during this stressful time.
Here are some things you can do to support your partner during finals:
Support them in their efforts to refrain from Facebook, Twitter, and texting.
Make them study food (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, trail mix , or egg and cheese on a biscuit!) to help them stay focused. Not eating enough during stressful times can increase fatigue, and being hungry can be a distraction from studying.
Save their favorite study spot while they are taking a break or an exam.
Offer up your place to study if they have loud roommates.
Do their laundry so they can sleep a little longer.
If you are stressed, find a constructive way to share that stress with them without stressing them out too.
Take care of their pet while they study in Davis all day so they do not have to worry.
Make them a care package with healthy snacks, batteries for their calculator, and highlighters. This may brighten their week 🙂
Try not to share germs if you have the flu or a cold. Tips on handwashing can be found here: http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/
Give them a hand, neck, or back massage to relieve tension from all that typing.
Encourage them to take study breaks, get exercise, and plenty of sleep. All of these things are critical for remembering facts and doing well in stressful situations.
You can also relieve finals related stress by watching a movie, taking a walk, playing video games, or taking a nap together. Yes, sex is a stress reliever too – but be sure you talk about it first and are using a form of contraception, or it could be a bigger stressor than stress reliever !
If you have additional suggestions Tweet, Facebook, or comment below.
Yesterday kicked off Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW), which is always the first full week in October each year. The goal of MIAW is to raise awareness around the topic of mental health, educate the public, and advocate for mental health issues. This year, the theme of MIAW is #IAmStigmaFree. National Alliance on Mental Illness explains that “Being Stigma Free means learning about and educating others on mental illness, focusing on connecting with people to see each other as individuals and not a diagnosis.” Additionally, this year they running the #IAmStigmaFree campaign where people can take the Stigma Free Pledge to show their support of MIAW and commit to be stigma-free!
There are lots of great events happening on campus this week to celebrate MIAW – check out the details for these events below:
Wednesday 10/7:
Expert Mental Health Panel and Discussion
Time: 5:30-7pm
Location: Hyde Hall (176 E. Franklin St.), University Room
Details: A panel of experts will discuss a variety of mental health topics; a Q & A session will follow. Refreshments provided!
Details: This is an all-day event sponsored by UNC’s Department of Psychiatry that will involve interactive displays, poster sessions, and information on community resources related to mental health.
Saturday 10/10:
Rethink: Psychiatric Illness Training
Time: 12-4pm
Location: TBD (more information after you register)
Details: “At the Rethink: Psychiatric Illness Training, 30 students and community members break away from societal stigma to learn the basics about mental illness, become aware of the statistics and prevalence of mental illnesses in our state and on our campus, debunk myths, learn what we can do to help ourselves or a friend in need, familiarize ourselves with the resources available on campus, and understand the specific actions we can take to act as advocates. Throughout dynamic activities which include role playing, a trivia game, crossing lines, and a talk where a UNC student shares his or her personal experience with mental illness, participants become empowered and learn how they can do their part to empower others.”
Tar Heels, if you’re still hanging around the general vicinity of North Carolina this summer, you don’t need me to tell you it’s hot, but…OMG it’s sooooo hot! If you’re anything like me, a long string of hot days might make you complain a lot and think less clearly than you might otherwise.
Also, while the pictures on my Facebook feed tell me that this is vacation time for a lot of people…it might not feel like vacation time for all of us. Yes, NECESSITY, as well as our culture that socializes us to ideals of BUSY! and ACHIEVEMENTS!, can chase us down even into these summer months.
So, please allow me to be your Captain Obvious right now and give you a loving reminder:
Here is a comfy pink chair in the forest a person might sit in if they were taking a break.
Take a break.
Take a break! There are many ways to take a break today, this week, this month, this summer, even if you’re jamming out in Summer Session II and can’t afford a beach condo for the next decade. Here are some ideas to get your creative break-making juices flowing:
Finish reading this blog post and then turn off whatever screen you’re looking at for at least 5 minutes. Feeling brave? Do it in silence. Feeling tense? Think about relaxing each part of your body, starting with the toes and working your way up. It’s just 5 minutes. You can do it. Too easy? Make a summer resolution to do this every day and see what happens.
Call a friend you haven’t talked to in a long time and catch up.
Commit to listening to an entire album you haven’t heard ever or haven’t heard in a long time. Do it in one sitting. Invite some buddies over for a listening party.
Take a social media hiatus. Y’all. I haven’t been on Facebook for 3 days and I feel like a new person right now.
Drink some water. It’s hot.
Do something you haven’t done since you were a kid. Is there a swing set at your apartment complex? Can you get your hands on a pool noodle? Are there old board games for sale at PTA Thrift Shop? Where are those crayons your roommate was waving around? Can you YouTube your favorite old cartoon?
This blog post was originally published on November 22, 2013 and was written by Jani Radhakrishnan.
A 2013 Mobile Consumer Habit survey reported that 72% of U.S. adults that own smartphones keep it within five feet of them the majority of the time. [Mine is currently about 8 inches away from my computer!] That same study reported that out of 1102 respondents, 55% USED their smartphone while driving, 33% while on a date, 12% in the shower, and 20% of adults ages 18-34….during sex. O2 released a study that indicated that the ‘phone’ function on a smartphone is the fifth most frequently used function. In fact, the study reports that smartphones now replace alarm clocks, cameras, televisions, and physical books.
Image from cdn.physorg.com
Have you seen this creative video representing our addiction to phones?
Or read this news article about a San Francisco train shooting where “passengers were too distracted by phones to notice the shooter’s gun in plain sight”? With all this new ‘connectivity,’ we are not actually connecting to the world and the people around us. In fact, surveys indicate that 13% of cell phone owners pretend to use their phone to avoid interacting with people around them.
Image from teamsugar.com
The other day, my phone died while waiting for the bus [It was horrible!]. So, rather than staring mindlessly in to space, I made some small-talk with a guy heading to Carrboro and told him he could take the J and not wait 45 minutes for the CW. It felt good. It got me thinking….
It’s time to UNPLUG! I have come up with a 10 day challenge, and I invite you to try it with me. Since we all have work, school, and social lives, I have fairly realistic expectations. Still, I think we can semi-unplug from the world more often than we think. So, here it is:
Jani’s 10 day Challenge of Unplugging
Day 1 Friday: When you’re out with a partner or friend, make a deal to keep your phones in your pockets, bags, etc.
Day 2 Saturday: It’s the weekend! Do not check your work or school email accounts. Not even once.
Day 3 Sunday: Invest in a watch! Since it is Sunday, maybe you have some time to go find one. This way, you can check your watch for the time instead of your phone.
Day 4 Monday: Read the DTH or a hardcopy of some magazine or newspaper to check out any local events happening this week.
Day 5 Tuesday: Do not spend all day at a computer. Time yourself so that every hour, you get up and walk around for about 5 minutes. During that time, say hi to a colleague, another student, or a friend. Whatever you do, do not take your phone with you.
Day 6 Wednesday: While eating meals, keep your phone in a separate room, on silent.
Day 7 Thursday: At work, your room, or the library, open your email only twice per hour. [Coming from someone who permanently keeps the email tab open while on my computer, I know this will be my biggest challenge]
Day 8 Friday: When you are watching television, and a commercial comes on, do anything other than pulling out your phone. Maybe even jumping jacks!
Day 9 Saturday: If the weather is nice, enjoy the outdoors! Go for a hike or to the park, and leave your phone at home or in the car. [If you do not feel safe, keep your phone with you but do not look at it!] If it is rainy or cold outside, enjoy a hot beverage of your choice and a movie in the comfort of your own home, and turn your phone completely off during this time.
Day 10 Sunday: It is the last day of the challenge and I am hoping that tomorrow we can return to work or school feeling completely rejuvenated and ready to take on the world. What are we going to do to celebrate? Find a moment to answer a text with a phone call or Skype date instead of another text.
[TIPS for Success: Hey iPhone users, did you know there is a function on your phone called “Do Not Disturb” that will save incoming calls, messages, and alerts for later until you unlock your phone?]
My hope is that together, we can all unplug from this world and be in the moment for at least 10 days and continue some of these habits for our minds’ sake. You will be happier, your friends will be happier, and your mental health and boss or professor may be happier, too!
This week is National Men’s Health Week and a perfect time for male-identified individuals at UNC to make sure health and wellness are a top priority in their daily lives.
Health by Got Credit, Flickr, Creative Commons.
According to the National Center for Disease Control, Men’s Health Week is a time when men should remember to: get good sleep, toss out the tobacco, move more, eat healthy, tame stress, get regular medical checkups, and make sure you have affordable healthcare.
But in addition to these more commonly discussed health priorities for men, it’s also important for men to know about resources that can help them deal some of the more “taboo” or unspoken subjects related to men’s health. For example, issues like eating disorders are rarely openly discussed when it comes to men’s health.
Despite the silence surrounding this issue, according to the National Association for Men with Eating Disorders, one in four individuals with an eating disorder is a man. Men often falsely view eating disorders as issues that “don’t affect them” or see them stereotypically as “women’s issues.” These notions are false, rooted in sexism, and harmful to men.
Issues like eating disorders can be hard for men to talk about openly and honestly. The culture of dominant masculinity teaches men to always act tough and to deny issues that are stereotypically associated with women’s health. This sentiment is deeply detrimental to men’s health and leads many men to feel isolated and alone when dealing with issues of disordered eating.
It’s important that we talk openly and honestly about men’s health and that men on our campus know they have resources available. Let’s work together to support people across the gender spectrum who may be dealing with eating disorders and advocate for a National Men’s Health Week that discusses all the issues of health and wellness that affect men.
Phone Pic #66 by Mr. Jincks, Flickr, Creative Commons.
If you or someone you know is dealing with an eating disorder at UNC, there are resources available to help and support you.
Embody Carolina, a student group whose mission is to “educate students about identifying and supporting someone struggling with an eating disorder,” has a great resource page available on their website with various options for students seeking help or guidance.
UNC Healthy Heels 