5 minute read
We're all mental here...
Are you sure you're okay?
On Monday, October 10, 2022, the University of Luxembourg organised an event in honour of the international “Mental Health Day” and the “National Mental Health Week” celebrated annually in Luxembourg.
Advertisement
This year, the University offered information stands, a flow table with origamis and mandalas, guided meditation, Qi Gong, and yoga classes for students to express themselves and to raise awareness of mental health issues.
The Mental Health Day 2022 was not ignored by the Student Magazine ROUX either as we had some conversations with the representative staff on the spot and engaged in an online brainstorming session with a few students to gain inspiration for writing this article about mental wellbeing and caretaking of others.
We frequently ask each other, even irritatingly often, “how are you?” Sometimes a sudden, occasional urge to respond “why do you even care?” just goes to show how aggravating that question can be.
Communicating our mental states to others is not always an easy task. When I’m not in the mood, it feels intrusive when someone is trying to access my private headspace. Personalities also differ in terms of what we want to give out to other people. And quite frankly, we are not that transparent to ourselves in our mental life either.
But how often do you pause and inquire about yourself by asking, “how am I doing?” After all, how am I supposed to truly answer the question “how are you” to anyone, if I don’t even know the answer myself? That’s why a daily check-in with ourselves is a good place to start. Knowing and understanding ourselves helps us to better understand others as well.
It is also worth noting that our daily feelings are never fixed. A temperamental person tends to fluctuate between emotional states during the day more than a stoic type. However, since we are also experts at masking our emotions, the real difficulties arise in noticing the difference between a person who’s honestly having a good day from a person who’s honestly having a rough day. Equally hard is recognizing the difference between a person who’s just having a rough day from a person who’s actually having a rough life.
I think there is no wrong time to express your worry about someone as long as you are genuine about it. We tend to check-in on people on regular intervals, because life can be devastating at times. Your psyche is on a tough trial throughout your whole life, so better take a really good care of your incredible mind. And by that I mean a genuine, mutual care of one another to show that you do really matter to me.
Online Survey
In the questions describing the mental state and the reasons for this condition, the respondents answered different causes. One-half responded that they feel relaxed in their everyday life because they are surrounded by “positive vibes” from friends and family. However, success in social life, such as studies, also plays a significant role in this positivity.
The other half feels that life is more worrisome and stressful, especially in academics and extracurricular activities. Lack of balance between leisure activities and a high level of overthinking about the issues of the outside world or the home country also has a high impact.
But really... How are you doing?
A brief insight into the mental state of the students at the University of Luxembourg.
In contrast to physical health, mental health is often neglected by oneself because, according to the students, it is not taken seriously by people, or they are socially unused to talk about it. People are often ashamed of their mental health problems, which is why only a few of them dare to be open about it. In addition, it is more difficult to talk about mental than physical health, which leads to the former not being able to get the recognition and treatment it deserves.
However, students were brave enough to be open about their mental health and eventually contributed a few ideas on how to improve it.
Brainstorming
1. “More time for yourself.”
Whether that time is spent celebrating more, with families and friends, or just sleeping in for a day.
2. “Loving support from friends and family.”
When going through a rough patch, don’t let yourself down and seek help when needed. Be it from your mother, father, aunt, or your pet “Billy.”
"What would or could make it better?"
3. “Less academic pressure.”
Reducing the pressure to perform in college would take a huge burden off of students’ shoulders. Especially, while still having to travel 3 hours just to get to the university.
4. “Receive love/give love"
Seeing the world through selfless eyes can also have a significant positive impact on the psyche. Studies have shown that spending money on others rather than yourself makes you happier. So the same love we get from acquaintances, we can give to those who need it the most, which in return helps us to feel more content with our choices.
by Samuli Riikonen & Lorina Mpoyi
