By Kenneth Glidden, Head Culture Co-Writer
Photos from stock.adobe.com, webstockreview.net, and nr.onu.edu
A college student’s life can get very stressful from time to time. For most of us here at McKendree, that includes balancing schoolwork, sports, a social life, and any other extracurricular activities we may decide to take on. There are many ways to help reduce your stress levels on your own, which for most is enough to keep everything under control. A few stress reducers that may work for you are getting plenty of rest at night, prioritizing tasks in order of importance, or reducing caffeine intake.
Finding some time in your day to meditate with some deep breathing to collect your thoughts and drinking a lot of water throughout the day are also tremendous for reducing stress in your day-to-day life. McKendree University understands that students may be going through a lot while trying to pursue their further education and athletic careers, so they offer free professional counseling for all students. This service is definitely one I wish I had known about from freshman year. However, even knowing all about the free counseling services may not be enough for someone to get themselves to go.
I can attest to how difficult it is to gain enough courage to seek out help, especially due to the stigma surrounding counseling and therapy. On the McKendree website, if you click the Student Life tab and then scroll to the Health and Safety section, you will see a link labeled “Counseling Services,” which you can click on to read about which counseling services are available and signs that you might want to consider going to counseling for. Even if you don’t have any of the indicators listed on the webpage, I highly recommend giving it a try to help declutter your thoughts or fix any bad habits you might have, such as using your phone too much.
This may be the only time you will be able to receive professional counseling completely free of charge, so if you’ve been thinking about going or think you could use any sort of mental health treatment, don’t hesitate to give them a call or send them an email to set up an appointment. McKendree Counseling Services are open Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. at 509 Stanton St. behind the library. Their number is (618) 537-6590 and their email is msmchenry@mckendree.edu; both of which are available on the Counseling Services webpage at https://www.mckendree.edu/offices/counseling-services/index.php.
