I am a Student

There are ten common warning signs that someone is suffering from a mental health problem. If you or someone you know experiences one or more of these signs, seek help from a trusted family member, friend, mentor, or medical professional.

1. Feeling very sad or withdrawn for more than two weeks
2. Severe, out-of-control risk-taking behaviours
3. Sudden overwhelming fear for no reason
4. Not eating, throwing up or using laxatives to lose weight
5. Seeing, hearing or believing things that are not real
6. Repeatedly and excessively using drugs or alcohol
7. Drastic changes in mood, behaviour, personality or sleeping habits
8. Extreme difficulty in concentrating or staying still
9. Intense worries or fears that get in the way of daily activities
10. Trying to harm oneself or planning to do so.

If you or someone you know experiences one or more of these signs, you should talk with trusted family, peers or mentors and seek assistance.

It can be difficult to know whether what you are experiencing is an early sign of an emerging mental health condition or part of adjusting to college.

You don’t have to know the answer to that question. Listen to your mind and body. If you are not feeling right and are having trouble shaking that feeling, then talk with someone who can help you sort things out and help you decide what kind of care you need.

Look further down this page at the ‘Support Service Links at Your School’ section as a place to start the conversation.

You are not alone: Student stories of mental health

Some situations can trigger and affect your mental health. To some, they may seem like a normal occurrence that happens to everyone. To others, the mental strain associated with the event can be overwhelming. Be aware of these stressors and think about how they have or could affect your mental health.

Can a webpage really tell me how to deal with my romantic relationships? The truth is that we can only guide you and give you information that supports making the best decision(s) you need to make. So before you dismiss what we have to say, take a healthy look at your current or past relationships and ask yourself if it was healthy or not. Use the following table to help guide your thinking:

Healthy vs. Unhealthy Romantic Relationships ¹

If you think you have an unhealthy relationship and need to end it, do a little Internet search on how best to break up with someone. You also can go to your school’s student services and ask for advice on how to break up with someone if you don’t know how to do it and you think the situation is affecting your schoolwork.

Fourteen Ways to Break Up Better

As a society, we place a great emphasis on finding “the one” – the perfect soul mate who we will spend the rest of our lives with. But what happens when a relationship ends? We all know the pain and sorrow that comes with the end of a relationship. Most individuals are not prepared for it. Sometimes it’s the first breakup, other times we just don’t know how to cope. Fortunately, we can develop skills to help us get back to feeling the way we want to feel. As described in a PsychCentral article, “our thinking will dictate how we feel about, and ultimately cope with, a breakup, as well as any other occurrences in our lives. Irrational thoughts and beliefs that cause us to feel hopeless or depressed about our breakup can be replaced with more rational ones. This will make the ending of a relationship feel much more bearable.”

The 7 Stages of a Breakup and 7 Ways University Students Can Cope

How do we identify irrational thoughts, and how do we replace them with rational ones? Good question! Take a look at the three examples below and then click on the link for more.

Prepare for how you want to handle the breakup and make sure you take steps to be mentally healthy before, during, and after the event.

• Surviving A Relationship Break-Up – Top 20 Strategies
• Surviving Relationship Break-up

Homesickness is a perceived loss of the close support and structure that family often provides. Students feel vulnerable being on their own and long for easier times when they had less responsibility, more structure, and more perceived support. Homesickness is not a defined illness and, as such, there are no identifiable symptoms.

That said, you might focus on students who are feeling sad, depressed, isolated or lonely. Not every student feels capable of meeting new people and making new friends, and homesick students might struggle with this even more. Even students who are making friends can feel isolated if their new friendships are perceived as leaving some needs unmet or some void in their lives that they feel only family can fulfill. Other symptoms might include crying, skipping school, or feeling hurt or anger ².

• 9 ways to deal with homesickness
• How to deal with homesickness at university
• How long does homesickness last?
• What Happens To Your Mind And Body When You Feel Homesick?

According to Statistics Canada, about half of Canadian post-secondary students owe money for government or non-government loans when they graduate. Eek! The average college student owes $14,900, while the average university student owes over $26,000 for a bachelor’s or master’s. If you’re in this situation, are you ready to pay it back? Do you have a plan, or are you going to ignore the thought of it until after you graduate (and then panic)?

The mental health impact of rising debt: ‘A lot of students suffer silently’

The challenge of course work, the cost of education and the need to borrow money for college and to repay these loans are all factors that add up quickly to cause economic stress.

Budgeting your expenses is a sound first step toward getting a grasp on your financial situation. It will allow you to keep track of the money moving in and out of your wallet. If you’re unsatisfied with your spending habits, make small changes where you can. Any number of factors can lead to economic stress. Maybe you or a parent lost a job, or you feel like you don’t have as much money as your friends. This can be especially true on a college campus, where it’s easy to assume that all students’ families are wealthy.

Check out this quick test to see what your level of financial understanding is (it is half way down the webpage). While you’re at it, why not take a moment to look at these other links, which can help you create a budget.

• Student Budget Worksheet
• Budgeting for student life
• Renting your first apartment
• Financial Goal Calculator
• Budget Calculator (Detailed)
• Making a plan to be debt-free

A large-scale survey of 43,780 students from 41 Canadian campuses confirmed the suspected high level of binge drinking students are doing.³ You might be wondering why anyone would waste money on such a study as it feels like this should be common knowledge. But, times are changing and so are attitudes toward binge drinking. We are more aware of the risks and their impact on our wellbeing than when our parents were young. However, there is still a lot of binge drinking happening. According to the study:

• More than a third of students surveyed reported having five or more drinks the last time they partied or socialized
• 18% reported physically injuring themselves
• 24% had unprotected sex
• 29% forgot where they were or what they did
• 38% did something they later regretted

Alcohol is considered the most popular and dangerous drug on campus. Although drugs can cause more damage in a shorter period of time, alcohol has the potential to cause just as much damage. To many, drinking is synonymous with the school experience; it’s at house and bush parties, sporting events, and basically anywhere else. Since the use of alcohol during school is widespread and often socially acceptable, many students end up drinking more alcohol more frequently than their peers who aren’t in college.

Take a moment and ask yourself how often and how much you drink. Once you start working professionally, could you keep drinking the same amount and as often while still excelling at your job or raising a family?

Let’s also remember that it’s not just alcohol. Post-secondary students make up one of the largest groups of drug abusers nationwide. Yep, taking a moment to gauge your drug and alcohol use is worthwhile, especially since Canada has recently legalized recreational cannabis use. Educate yourself on drugs and alcohol use, and see how you can improve your lifestyle.

It’s probably strange for many of you to imagine what it was like for young adults 15-20 years ago when social media wasn’t significant – although, at the time, the development of pagers and cell phones significantly changed communication. The previous generation was the transition generation. They were the first to move to computer use in school, to start having electronics and access to the Internet. As a result, the previous generation is not the best at understanding the effects of social media. What is understood is that most things in moderation are good, while extreme or excess is likely not good. Research is starting to talk about the effects of social media on mental health. When it comes to your mental health, it is vital to understand how social media affects you. Keep an eye on it over time and critically reflect on your social media behaviours (good and bad).

• 5 Canadians on what social media is doing to their mental health
• 6 Ways Social Media Affects Our Mental Health – The research says this is true:
  • It’s addictive
  • It triggers more sadness, less well-being
  • Comparing our lives with others is mentally unhealthy
  • It can lead to jealousy—and a vicious cycle
  • We get caught in the delusion of thinking it will help
  • More friends on social doesn’t mean you’re more social
• This social media site ranked worst for mental health (it includes the good ones to!)
• Still don’t believe that social media isn’t the be all and end all? See this article.
• Side note – think about the CSMLS Code of Ethics and how it can relate to social media use

Attending college or university is an important achievement and an exciting time in life. You will gain greater independence, meet new people, and have memorable experiences. It is a time of significant transition, which can be both positive and challenging. So, to get the best start, read through the resources of our Mental Health Toolkit!

• HealthyMinds is a problem-solving app to help deal with emotions and cope with the stresses you encounter both on and off campus. The goal: Keeping your mind healthy. 
• We asked university students how they deal with mental health issues
• How to cope with mental health difficulties at university
• How Students Can Maintain Mental Health at College 
• Ten Things You Can Do for Your Mental Health
• Check out the “Your Voice on Mental Health and Advice” and “I am an Individual” sections of the Toolkit and remember that you can use every section across your career!

Connecting with others, including involvement with campus and community activities, can help you protect and maintain your mental health. Explore opportunities through your campus student activities center and get involved in one or more of the following activities:

• Campus events
• Campus clubs
• Campus interest groups
• Sports
• Student organizations
• Volunteer activities

Dealing with mental health problems requires solutions that are individualized, constant and personal. These solutions require a relationship between two people and access to more resources. Some students avoid on-campus mental health services because they don’t feel they have poor mental health, or they want to avoid stigmatization.

Here are things to know before or soon after you arrive on campus. How many of these to do you know about? How many of these to do you know about?

• Where are mental health services provided?
• How do you make an appointment for mental health care?
• Are drop-in services available?
• How do you access mental health services after hours or in an emergency?
• What mental health services and programs are available?
• Are there any fees for mental health services and supports?
• Are there limits on the type or amount of services available and, if so, will your school link you with care in the community?

Everyone should know how to access mental health care on campus, even if they don’t need the services. To help you get the answers to the questions above or to find someone to speak with, find your school below and contact someone today.

• Algonquin Careers Academy
• Anderson College of Health, Business and Technology
• British Columbia Institute of Technology 
• Cambrian College
• Cape Breton Business College
• CDI College 
• Cégep de l’Outaouais
• Cégep de Rimouski
• Centennial College
• Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick 
• College of New Caledonia
• College of the North Atlantic
• Confederation College of Applied Arts and Technology
• Dawson College 
• Herzing College
• Medix College of Healthcare
• Michener Institute of Education at UHN 
• Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology 
• National Academy of Health & Business 
• New Brunswick Community College 
• Northern Alberta Institute of Technology 
• Nova Scotia Community College
• Ontario Tech University
• Oulton College
• Red Deer College
• Red River College 
• Robertson College
• Saskatchewan Polytechnic 
• Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
• St. Clair College 
• St. Lawrence College
• Thompson University
• University of Alberta
• Westervelt College

Life can be overwhelming. Going to school and caring for yourself might feel like it’s too much to handle. If you are thinking of taking a break from school, let’s check-in for a moment. It’s important to know your options so you can become mentally healthy again.

5 Signs It Might Be Time to Take a Mental Health Leave From College

6 Warning Signs You Need to Take a Break from College

What Is a Leave of Absence?

A leave of absence is a period when a student is not enrolled in classes but intends to return to school in the future. You might not know if you are definitely returning and that’s okay, but don’t close the door on returning unless you are 100% sure. Taking a leave of absence allows you to return to school without going through the admission process again.

Academic programs understand that a student’s life can be complicated, and they have developed policies and procedures that allow students a chance to take a break from school. Students might want a leave of absence for many reasons, such as family emergencies and medical or mental health conditions. Leaves can last anywhere from a few weeks to a few years.

For leaves related to mental health, schools have different policies and procedures depending on the circumstances. Your school might call the leave something different: Medical Leaves of Absence, Emergency Leaves or, in some cases, Involuntary Leaves of Absence.⁴

You will want to consider how long you plan to be away and be realistic. Consult a school counsellor, family, and friends. Academic programs do have limitations on the length of time away so you will want to find out what the maximum amount of time can be.

Leave of Absence From College, Explanation and Benefits

Sometimes, I Wish I Had Taken a Year Off

What Should I Consider Before Making a Decision?

Mental Health America has some good points to consult. You may consider a leave of absence if:

• Your mental health is disrupting your ability to participate in academic and campus life, even with supports and accommodations.
• You feel you are in crisis or that your level of distress is becoming intolerable.
• You believe the stress and pressure of college is seriously disrupting your ability to focus on recovery.
• You feel you need an increased level of care.
• You are not able to access the services you need at your college or university.
• You feel that time away from classes would be beneficial for your long-term well-being.

Remember, it is not always necessary to leave even if you feel like it. Academic programs have many programs to help students; you just need to ask for help and see what they can offer you. There are career counsellors, doctors and mental health specialists on campus at all times for a reason.

Here are some articles to help you think through your leave of absence and why you should try to stay on campus if possible:

• Should You Take a Leave of Absence? Reasons to Avoid Taking a Leave of Absence
• When taking a mental health leave of absence is a matter of survival