May Is Mental Health Awareness Month
Today’s topic is mental health awareness.
The end of any semester always brings more stress, but in the current context, even no more stress might be too much stress. During his visit to NOVA, Chancellor Doré shared that students across the VCCS have identified mental health challenges as their top concern. Nationally, the results of the recent Healthy Minds survey reflect this concern. Of the over 90,000 students surveyed at 133 colleges and universities, 44% reported symptoms of depression and 37% experienced anxiety.
On the positive side, the Healthy Minds survey showed a slight increase in students knowing about and accessing mental health services, so it’s a good time to remind ourselves and our students about the NOVA community’s free access to TimelyCare—both the 24/7 talk feature and visits with a licensed mental health professional. In addition, NOVA’s Office of Wellness and Mental Health offers a host of resources, including self-care kits and referrals to mental health providers.
Research suggests that—for many reasons—some communities access mental health services at a lower rate than others, and recent research indicates that Asian Americans are far less likely than the overall U.S. population to seek mental health care. This month’s DEI Spotlight program, Caring for Your Mental Health as an Asian American, addresses this concern. This event will be held on Thursday, May 4, from 3 p.m. until 4 p.m., in person on the Annandale Campus at the AAPI Intercultural Center and through livestream. My thanks to Micron for co-sponsoring this event and to DEI Event Coordinator Sherrene DeLong for organizing this important discussion.
We can all play a role in supporting the mental health of our students and each other by destigmatizing the topic, raising awareness of the availability of resources and supporting those who seek care. Many thanks to our offices of Wellness and Mental Health, DEI and Human Resources for their outstanding work and advocacy on this important topic.