By James Cirrone

As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, students of color were invited to join the University of Maryland Counseling Center on Oct. 9 at the “Self-Care and Communities of Color” dialogue to discuss their mental health and learn from psychologists. 

The informal dialogue, paired with Subway sandwiches and cookies, began with students introducing themselves and explaining why they came.

She added that her community didn’t talk much about mental health growing up, which is why she has been trying to make herself more aware of it. 

The hour-long conversation centered around the stress of being both college students and people of color. Jessica David, a Doctoral Psychology Intern at the Counseling Center and one of the facilitators of the dialogue, explained the nature of stress to the attendees.

She said that stress is usually caused by something, which is called the stressor. Your stressor could be a big exam or a job interview. Theoretically, once those stressors disappear from life, the big test passes or the job interview is over, the stress is supposed to go away. David explained that if identifiable stressors go away and you’re still feeling stressed much of the time, it could be a cause for concern.

Dr. Maria Berbery, a staff psychologist at the Counseling Center, expanded on David’s point, saying that this kind of stress could manifest in several different ways – depression, anxiety or an eating disorder. Of course, these are more extreme cases.

The students in attendance shared their experiences with stress, from getting mountains of homework to everyday racism. 

When the students were asked if it was difficult to admit stress to others, many of them agreed. One person explained that when they were upset, they were afraid to share their feelings in fear of being seen as weak. 

Later on in the discussion, Dr. Berbery asked the students about how they take care of themselves when they’re feeling stressed out. One student said he has been trying to adopt a mindset of controlling what he can control and not stressing too much about the things he can’t change. Another said she tells herself to do what is “enough” and reminds herself that aiming for perfection isn’t realistic. 

After the dialogue had concluded, Shelton Daal, a senior sociology major, reflected on the conversation.

This event was an attempt by the Counseling Center to attract students that are concerned with their mental health, but don’t necessarily want to go to therapy. Instead, the event featured a more informal, laid-back atmosphere where students of color could be open and learn new  coping mechanisms to help with stress.