May might be mental health awareness month, but it’s also finals for many college students. That makes this week particularly important for university counseling departments.
At the South Dakota Mines campus in Rapid City students race from one building to the next, trying to manage their sleep, study, projects and final exams as the semester winds down.
Despite this week’s whirlwind, there’s one place on campus that keeps the same pace. That’s the office of Duane Kavanaugh, director of the Mines counseling department.
“The national trend is that college students are seeking services more than ever," Kavanaugh said. "Generally, in the public realm you can assume one-in-four, one-in-five people in their lifetime will need mental health services. It’s about the same on college campuses. Moods and other issues are real, and that’s what happens – people become depressed.”
Kavanaugh said students come to his office for any number of reasons.
“Depression, anxiety, it’s a big time in their lives so it could often be a big stressor, we see some kids on the autism spectrum that has been undiagnosed," Kavanaugh said. "A lot of our students, high school wasn’t an overly big challenge for them and then they come here and it’s a really rigorous place to be. So, they’ll come in and say okay, maybe I am having some reading difficulties or concentration problems.”
Kavanaugh said there’s no weakness in seeking therapy.
“There still is in the general public this idea that mental health isn’t a real thing, that you just need to pull yourself up by the bootstraps – this snowflake kind of thing," Kavanaugh said. "The reality is we’ve known for 50 years depression and mental health in general are real issues people struggle with every day. So, we help people understand it’s not as taboo as it used to be. Mental health is just as important as your physical health.”
Every state-run university offers counseling services at no additional cost to students. If you are currently experiencing a severe mental health episode, call the suicide and crisis lifeline free of charge at 988 to be put on the line with a crisis conselor.