Mental Health Progress Isn’t Over Yet!
By Jules Pizano
College is difficult on your mental health, especially as a queer student and needing someone to talk to. Studies have shown that LGBTQ+ youth run a higher risk to develop mental health problems like depression and anxiety. Due to the massive amount of students needing help, as well as the increasing number of students with declining mental health, the few resources for mental health services at UC Berkeley is stretched thin. Accessing the resources they provide is nearly impossible. My university offers 3 free sessions per semester for all students, but by the time you schedule an appointment, the next available one isn’t until a few months away. That leaves you looking for a therapist outside of the school network, which means you have to have (1) insurance covering mental health, (2) time to look for a therapist, and (3) energy to be able to prioritize this over everything else at the moment. The unfortunate reality with being a college student is, not everyone has all three — I know I don’t. Luckily I was able to talk with a counselor through the Transgender Care Team, but it was, again, only short term with limited sessions. This deterred me from being honest and fully opening up to my therapist. And the limit probably also inhibited the counselor to really dive in, deeply understand me as an individual, and adequately help my needs. As a result, I stopped going to my appointments and left me with no one to talk to.
The lack of mental health resources aren’t just at the university level; I had trouble finding counseling in high school, too. We are at a time where we need to prioritize our health, both mental and physical. We are in recovery from a pandemic, many violent conflicts are happening in the world, and that’s not even mentioning the problems we are facing in our own cities. Over the years we have destigmatized taking care of our mental health, but we can’t stop there — we need to go further and fund resources for mental health! It’s tiring to see bills that are being ignored that can significantly improve mental health for everyone. With that being said, after reading this blog, please take a break and check in with yourself.