As seasons change, everyone needs a break

We all need a break. As the academic and social schedules of students become fully booked with extracurriculars and credit hours, many begin to feel overworked. For students and faculty, the fall and winter months are a time of mental slumping. Especially for first-years who have just started adapting to adulthood, sometimes a mental health day can be a cure.

Due to these struggles, Trinity should allow for a certain number of mental health days throughout a semester. Increasing academic and social rigor overwhelms students with work, shortening the time students have to focus on themselves. Receiving an education should not force students to push themselves to the edge of stress, and universities should use their influence to provide mental health resources. Depending on commitments, students have a lot on their plates that faculty, friends and family aren’t aware of. Often, all you need is a day to yourself to catch up on schoolwork, focus on hobbies and decompress.

According to a survey conducted by public health social workers, mental health time off through a university can greatly lessen the stressors and risk factors associated with mental health issues. The authors highlighted these struggles with depression, anxiety and other mental health disorders. The Americans with Disability Act requires universities to respond to mental health struggles if it is interfering with students’ education. Maxwell and Praetorius stated that people need to learn mental health guidelines, expectations and within an educational setting. The authors concluded that mental health is a “public health issue,” and universities should institute those issues beyond scheduled breaks for holidays or seasons. The ultimate goal is to highlight the importance of mental health among universities, which could be achieved through mental health days.

Going to school in Texas provides multiple challenges to mental health, such as unpredictable weather patterns. This can be related to the end of daylight savings time and the forces of global warming. Students and faculty should be mindful of weather-related impacts on their mental health, and implement mental health days to grant students time and resources, despite outliers who could take advantage.

Mental health issues have been linked to Texas heat on numerous occasions, especially in a big city through “urban heat islands,” but this can also apply to the cooler months. With the quick dips in temperatures from the mid-80s to the 60s during the week of Nov. 9, the drastic changes in weather forced students to quickly adjust to throwing on a coat over their outfits, but it can also alter their moods.

According to a 2016 study on seasonal depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can be a certain type of depression that is dependent on a lack of or decrease in received sunlight. While the majority of people are not diagnosed with SAD, students should be aware of the climate’s impact on mental well-being.

Professors and faculty should be conscious of how the weather may be affecting them and their students. Absences and low performance rates may be indicative of mental health issues; it is important for students to know that their teacher understands and realizes the impact of the effects of seasonal mental health problems.

Trinity University provides resources to students through its counseling and wellness programs. Individual counseling is free of charge and allows students to talk to trusted healthcare professionals about their mental health struggles. However, this is not enough to address the problem at hand.

Some may believe that by permitting students to have mental health days, they may lose motivation and slack off. Opponents argue that giving students breaks for mental health difficulties may lead them to take advantage of this accommodation and use it as a way to blow off class. However, many students would benefit from having extensions when going through a rough patch, and being able to take a day to themselves during a hectic week allows them to have a break when they need one.

As the winter months begin to approach along with finals season, be cautious of what your head and your heart are telling you, and take care of yourself. Trinity needs to implement more, but there are plenty of resources available and people to lean on, both on and off campus.