What load do you carry? That is one of the questions students had to reflect on at the Mental Health Matters conversation hosted by Beta Chapter Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority.
Everyone is carrying a load, and it is always hard to carry it alone. Beta Chapter Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority President Maria Bolton noted that it’s a myth to think that we should be able to handle it all by ourselves. The event, held in recognition of World Mental Health Day on October 10, offered tips and takeaways such as
- Having a good support system
- Investing in self-care
- Organizing yourself well
The audience engaged in teamwork activities in a safe space where all felt supported, recognized how to take care of themselves, and learned about resources available to them from UDC’s Health and Wellness and Counseling Center. Students connected with each other, and expressed vulnerability by sharing experiences and their loads.
According to a 2026 United Healthcare Young Adult and College Student Behavioral Health Report, over 60% of young adults and college students reported mental and behavioral health struggles.
UDC is a “non-traditional school and has working parents, older students, the traditional college age students, everybody is carrying something different,” said Bolton. The purpose of the gathering is to “provide resources both inside and outside the school for students who are struggling with stress, anxiety, depression, sometimes it’s not the easiest thing to speak up,” she said.
“Events like these make people a little bit more comfortable with reaching out for the resources and getting the help they need or even being more comfortable going to a friend to say, ‘Hey, I need help,'” said Destynee Bolton”
Kaine Melome, a junior STEM student learned how important it is “to have a partner or someone you can tell your problems to and for them to give advice.”
“The most important thing for me was the boundary aspect [. . .] learning how to say no without having any guilt. Shedding things that no longer serve me, that could be friendships, relationships, it could be unhealthy habits that I picked up or it could be responsibilities that no longer serve me, they kind of just like add stress to my life,” said Aniyah Gaffney, Business Management sophomore.
Gaffney also shares encouraging words for fellow students who may be struggling. “I feel like it’s so cliché for everyone to say, ‘it gets better, it gets better’ but I would say it’s just a process.”
World Mental Health Day was established in 1992 by the World Federation of Mental Health.
