Whether you are an experienced student or unlucky enough to be a first-student, you are aware of the panic that is hitting students at this very moment: Finals. Papers, exams, last minute projects, you're overdue work that needs to be turned in to save your grade, etc. All of this stress and pressure on students during the last two weeks of the semester are enough to send a person over the edge. Which is why it is important that so many of us suffering students are talking about it.
Mental health isn't talked about nearly as much as it should be, creating a stigma that suggests someone who isn't mentally well is unable to function normally in society. This ideology is more than incorrect, it hurts those who suffer through immense amounts of anxiety and depression on a daily basis.
Finals week, however, brings forth a sense of community and opens a channel for people to talk about anxiety over a common obstacle. Individuals suffering through mental illness have their own unique obstacles that they must face everyday, but it's safe to say that a student suffering with mental illness is going to be stressing out more when finals are around the corner. These individuals are thus given the opportunity to express openly about their pain without having to feel uncomfortable about something they have no control over.
During the time leading up to finals, students have the ability to mentally join forces to face the anxiety and pressure put on them, and this sort of group alliance can really help those who suffer alone on a daily basis with their mental illness. I suffer from anxiety myself, and I have found that during finals I could always feel at my most comfortable level talking about my anxieties with others because my classmates were able to understand me.
If we students could spare a minute to reflect on these feelings and use them to understand others that suffer daily, then perhaps the stigma that's been attached to mental illness for ages would begin to disappear. I understand that this is most likely the last thing on any student's mind when there are so many things left to do before the semester ends, but take time after the storm passes to realize that the pain you went through is something that someone you may even know goes through daily. Take the time to understand instead of making assumptions about a person. One moment of reflection can change our thinking.
