What would you tell a friend who refused help with an infected injury? Now let’s talk about mental health.
You can reach the UHCL Counseling and Mental Health Center online at www.uhcl.edu/cmhc, by phone at 281-283-2580, or by visiting the Student Services and Classroom Building (SSCB) room 3103 on the third floor. The national mental crisis hotline can be reached by dialing 988 any time, day or night. There is a detailed list of additional resources at the bottom of this article.
I would like to start by doing something very different, and a bit uncomfortable to be honest, talking about myself. I am a disabled veteran who has spent approximately a decade and a half in the armed forces of the United States. After my service, I was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum as well as having ADHD. Nearly five decades of my life had passed with these two conditions going undiagnosed. I have had two successful careers and now am studying for a third, which I am very much looking forward to. During my journey, I have encountered several significant events that have impacted my health, both physically and emotionally, and have sought medical care for both. There is a stigma when dealing with mental health but it is time to bring it into the light of day. Enough about me, let’s talk about us.
Mental and emotional health is a part of our complete health which is why it is unfortunate that so many people are embarrassed to address the subject. The brain is an organ, just like any other, and its care is equally important to that of the liver, heart, or skin. Not all challenges that someone encounters in mental health are life-changing or permanent, sometimes people just need help navigating their current situation. “Life is hard, and college in particular is a very dynamic time. Dynamic in both good and bad ways.”, said Monica Martinez, therapist and outreach coordinator at the University of Houston – Clear Lake (UHCL), Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC). Many changes happening at the same time can create a lot of stress in life. We all have a different story and whether you are coming to college from high school or returning to school after spending time in the workforce, there are a lot of new things to adapt to. Whether the stress is financial, social, academic, or all of the above, at some point everyone will feel a little overwhelmed and could use some help. The good news is that we have a free resource, right here in our UHCL community to help us when we need a hand. CMHC offers both direct services (e.g., individual, couples, group therapy) and self-directed services, so if you are ready to talk to someone they are standing by to help guide you, or you can use anonymous online or telephone self-service tools if you are not ready to talk to someone yet.
The CMHC offers many services for our university community at no charge. They can help you find your best path to mental and emotional wellness through a variety of options ranging from support groups to one-on-one counseling with therapists. If you prefer to start without seeing someone, the university has many resources online or by telephone that you can use anonymously. “You are the leader in this journey.”, said Martinez. “What better version of you do you want to be?” You decide what direction to go to reach your personal goals.
Services offered at the CMHC include directed services, where a counselor will help guide you through available resources to help you through your journey. That could look like group discussions, mindfulness training, looking for the causes of stress, and teaching you coping mechanisms so you can conquer your own world. The CMHC offers help with couples counseling (as long as one person in the relationship is a currently enrolled student), substance use concerns, and crisis management or immediate crisis assistance. Self-service help includes online screening, mindfulness training and exercises, guided imagery, Togetherall (an online, anonymous peer-to-peer support chat), and the mental wellness app Welltrack Boost. The online resources are all paid for by the university for use by any currently enrolled student. For anyone interested in becoming a mental health ally, the CMHC holds training called CErT training to teach mental health first aid using four key aspects: connect, empower, refer, and thrive. The training schedule for the rest of the year is listed at the bottom of this article. “For medication management, CMHC offers psychiatry services at a small fee or can assist with referrals in the community.”, said Stefanie Denu, Training Director and licensed psychologist at the CMHC.
“Sometimes you just have the blahs, and you don’t even know where they’re coming from.”, said Martinez. If you find yourself in a slump and can’t figure out why, it may be time to stop by and visit the kind folks at the CMHC. If you know someone who is having a hard time lately, it may be time to ask if they are alright. Be supportive, listen, and refer them to the resources the CMHC provides.
“These are skills that you’ve never been taught, and it’s not that there’s something wrong with you, these are skills.”, said Martinez. In school we are taught how to eat properly, the importance of hygiene, math, and history, but no one gets taught how to take care of yourself mentally. If you find yourself feeling stressed or angry, stop, take a couple of deep breaths, and relax. An exercise called Square Breathing is a simple instant stress reducer. Inhale over four seconds, then release the breath over four seconds. Repeat once more. You can also download the Welltrack Boost app on your mobile device and use it to track your moods, find patterns, and get guidance on destressing. Another tactic if you are having difficulty remaining calm with those around you, use what Martinez calls the HALT method. Evaluate if you are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. If any one of these fits your current situation then stop and rectify the issue then come back to whatever needs to be addressed after you have calmed down and fixed whatever was wrong. Remember when someone told you to never go to bed angry? You were supposed to resolve whatever was causing you to fight with your partner. This is not true. Using the HALT method requires us to stop and rest before readdressing a conflict with cooler heads. If you are tired and continue to work on a matter you are already frustrated with you are now just adding fuel to the fire because you are tired and frustrated.
With all the tools available to us, it is time to decide what better us we want to become. We can all move forward as a community and care for each other, support each other, and help each other on our respective journeys toward our better selves. Don’t forget to stop by the Counseling and Mental Health Center if you need anything to help you as we go through this common experience of higher education. We are all under stress and deadlines, and we all need each other, so let’s go be that community we all want to live in. A final thought: as we are working into mid-terms if you just need to decompress, stop by and visit the Mind Spa. It is a quiet place with massage chairs.
Phone numbers:
Veteran Crisis Line 1-800-784-2433, press 1
Spanish Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-888-628-9454
Deaf/Hard of Hearing Lifeline TTY – 800-799-4889
Gay & Lesbian Switchboard Houston 713-529-0037
Trans Lifeline 1-877-330-6366
The Trevor Project 1-866-488-7386
Trevor Textline Text “START” to 678678
National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233
National Sexual Assault Hotline 1-800-656-4673
Disaster Distress Helpline 1-800-985-5990
Disaster Distress Textline Text “TalkWithUs” to 66746
The Counseling and Mental Health Center: Becoming the best us we can be
What would you tell a friend who refused help with an infected injury? Now let’s talk about mental health.
You can reach the UHCL Counseling and Mental Health Center online at www.uhcl.edu/cmhc, by phone at 281-283-2580, or by visiting the Student Services and Classroom Building (SSCB) room 3103 on the third floor. The national mental crisis hotline can be reached by dialing 988 any time, day or night. There is a detailed list of additional resources at the bottom of this article.
I would like to start by doing something very different, and a bit uncomfortable to be honest, talking about myself. I am a disabled veteran who has spent approximately a decade and a half in the armed forces of the United States. After my service, I was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum as well as having ADHD. Nearly five decades of my life had passed with these two conditions going undiagnosed. I have had two successful careers and now am studying for a third, which I am very much looking forward to. During my journey, I have encountered several significant events that have impacted my health, both physically and emotionally, and have sought medical care for both. There is a stigma when dealing with mental health but it is time to bring it into the light of day. Enough about me, let’s talk about us.
Mental and emotional health is a part of our complete health which is why it is unfortunate that so many people are embarrassed to address the subject. The brain is an organ, just like any other, and its care is equally important to that of the liver, heart, or skin. Not all challenges that someone encounters in mental health are life-changing or permanent, sometimes people just need help navigating their current situation. “Life is hard, and college in particular is a very dynamic time. Dynamic in both good and bad ways.”, said Monica Martinez, therapist and outreach coordinator at the University of Houston – Clear Lake (UHCL), Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC). Many changes happening at the same time can create a lot of stress in life. We all have a different story and whether you are coming to college from high school or returning to school after spending time in the workforce, there are a lot of new things to adapt to. Whether the stress is financial, social, academic, or all of the above, at some point everyone will feel a little overwhelmed and could use some help. The good news is that we have a free resource, right here in our UHCL community to help us when we need a hand. CMHC offers both direct services (e.g., individual, couples, group therapy) and self-directed services, so if you are ready to talk to someone they are standing by to help guide you, or you can use anonymous online or telephone self-service tools if you are not ready to talk to someone yet.
The CMHC offers many services for our university community at no charge. They can help you find your best path to mental and emotional wellness through a variety of options ranging from support groups to one-on-one counseling with therapists. If you prefer to start without seeing someone, the university has many resources online or by telephone that you can use anonymously. “You are the leader in this journey.”, said Martinez. “What better version of you do you want to be?” You decide what direction to go to reach your personal goals.
Services offered at the CMHC include directed services, where a counselor will help guide you through available resources to help you through your journey. That could look like group discussions, mindfulness training, looking for the causes of stress, and teaching you coping mechanisms so you can conquer your own world. The CMHC offers help with couples counseling (as long as one person in the relationship is a currently enrolled student), substance use concerns, and crisis management or immediate crisis assistance. Self-service help includes online screening, mindfulness training and exercises, guided imagery, Togetherall (an online, anonymous peer-to-peer support chat), and the mental wellness app Welltrack Boost. The online resources are all paid for by the university for use by any currently enrolled student. For anyone interested in becoming a mental health ally, the CMHC holds training called CErT training to teach mental health first aid using four key aspects: connect, empower, refer, and thrive. The training schedule for the rest of the year is listed at the bottom of this article. “For medication management, CMHC offers psychiatry services at a small fee or can assist with referrals in the community.”, said Stefanie Denu, Training Director and licensed psychologist at the CMHC.
“Sometimes you just have the blahs, and you don’t even know where they’re coming from.”, said Martinez. If you find yourself in a slump and can’t figure out why, it may be time to stop by and visit the kind folks at the CMHC. If you know someone who is having a hard time lately, it may be time to ask if they are alright. Be supportive, listen, and refer them to the resources the CMHC provides.
“These are skills that you’ve never been taught, and it’s not that there’s something wrong with you, these are skills.”, said Martinez. In school we are taught how to eat properly, the importance of hygiene, math, and history, but no one gets taught how to take care of yourself mentally. If you find yourself feeling stressed or angry, stop, take a couple of deep breaths, and relax. An exercise called Square Breathing is a simple instant stress reducer. Inhale over four seconds, then release the breath over four seconds. Repeat once more. You can also download the Welltrack Boost app on your mobile device and use it to track your moods, find patterns, and get guidance on destressing. Another tactic if you are having difficulty remaining calm with those around you, use what Martinez calls the HALT method. Evaluate if you are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. If any one of these fits your current situation then stop and rectify the issue then come back to whatever needs to be addressed after you have calmed down and fixed whatever was wrong. Remember when someone told you to never go to bed angry? You were supposed to resolve whatever was causing you to fight with your partner. This is not true. Using the HALT method requires us to stop and rest before readdressing a conflict with cooler heads. If you are tired and continue to work on a matter you are already frustrated with you are now just adding fuel to the fire because you are tired and frustrated.
With all the tools available to us, it is time to decide what better us we want to become. We can all move forward as a community and care for each other, support each other, and help each other on our respective journeys toward our better selves. Don’t forget to stop by the Counseling and Mental Health Center if you need anything to help you as we go through this common experience of higher education. We are all under stress and deadlines, and we all need each other, so let’s go be that community we all want to live in. A final thought: as we are working into mid-terms if you just need to decompress, stop by and visit the Mind Spa. It is a quiet place with massage chairs.
Phone numbers:
Veteran Crisis Line 1-800-784-2433, press 1
Spanish Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-888-628-9454
Deaf/Hard of Hearing Lifeline TTY – 800-799-4889
Gay & Lesbian Switchboard Houston 713-529-0037
Trans Lifeline 1-877-330-6366
The Trevor Project 1-866-488-7386
Trevor Textline Text “START” to 678678
National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233
National Sexual Assault Hotline 1-800-656-4673
Disaster Distress Helpline 1-800-985-5990
Disaster Distress Textline Text “TalkWithUs” to 66746