James Loy 

This episode of major insight covers a range of mental health related topics and contain some sensitive content, including brief mentions of suicide and eating disorders listener discretion is advised. The views and opinions also expressed in this podcast by the hosts and guests may or may not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Miami University.

Multiple Student Voices 

Freshman year I came in undecided.

I'm finance, entrepreneurship, anthropology.

I'm a senior architecture student.

I'm involved in the blockchain club here.

I'm very passionate about studying abroad classes are going great.

And then obviously very involved with my sorority

I'm thriving.

Meredith Aliff 

Hi, I'm Meredith Aliff. And this is major insight. This is the podcast where we talk college life with amazing students about how to find your place and purpose on campus. Struggles with mental health among young people have skyrocketed in recent years. Many college students are struggling with anxiety and depression, while others are drowning in stress, worried about the future, or just entirely overwhelmed by everything all at once. So we wanted to bring more awareness and understanding to mental health and wellness by speaking with Justine Ferrer and Laurel Dobrozsi, who were recently part of a student led mental health panel here on campus. Justine is also a part of the hidden opponents campus captains program which advocates for student athlete mental health. Laurel is also certified in mental health first aid through the National Council for mental well-being. And today, they're here to continue the conversation by talking about their experiences with mental health, advice for those seeking services and support, and about how we can help end the stigma surrounding mental health and wellness for college students everywhere. So I want to start by asking you guys who are you?

Laurel Dobrozsi 

My name is Laurel Dobrozsi. I am a professional writing major, and an education, teaching and learning minor. And I am also certified in Mental Health First Aid.

Meredith Aliff 

What does that mean?

Laurel Dobrozsi 

Yeah, so getting certified and Mental Health First Aid is basically training that helps you be able to identify signs and symptoms of people facing a mental health challenge. It is also ....it gives you the tools to be able to listen non judgmentally and give reassurance. And then ultimately refer the person to the appropriate professional support and services that they need during that time.

Meredith Aliff 

Okay, and we also have

Justine Ferrer 

Hello, my name is Justine Ferrer. And I am a business analytics major here. And I'm also a member of the senior varsity synchronized skating team. Yeah. In addition to that, I am also a head campus captain for an organization called the hidden opponent. We are a student athlete mental health advocacy group. And so essentially, we connect other student athletes across the country at other universities, D1, D2, even some high schoolers, and we all get together and try to spread awareness on social media and other events that we host.

Meredith Aliff 

I love it. How did the two of you get interested in the issue of college student mental health,

Laurel Dobrozsi 

um, I think it was less of an interest, and more so something that comes with being a college student. College is so exciting, there's so much to experience, but it's also a time of uncertainty for many. And you know, it may be your first time living away from home or first time taking on leadership roles. And it can feel like a lot to balance. And I think my experience with trying to find the perfect balance between life school friends, family and work naturally forced me to want to better understand mental health and college not only for my own sake, but to maintain the relationships that I have with the people that I cared a lot about.

Meredith Aliff 

Nice. Very nice. What about you?

Justine Ferrer 

Yeah. So I've always had an interest in mental health. I think I was introduced to it, you know, at a young age, middle school, high school, but as somebody who really dreads a lot of transitions in life, I think that the transition to college was just going to be an anticipated challenge. And yeah, I definitely like knew going into my first year that it was probably going to be a little bit tough being away from home for the first time and then also kind of having to navigate mental health struggles that I had had even before college. So that was something that was already on my mind. And I knew how much of a struggle it was for me personally, and I figured that, you know, there has to be somebody else out there.

Meredith Aliff 

Yeah, A lot of people. So why do you guys think that this topic is so important to be addressing this in this day and age?

Justine Ferrer 

I think that the conversation around mental health is becoming more and more relevant. But in the spaces that we're in, you know, in, in college, I think sometimes it's still really a hard topic to address. And I think that sometimes it's really hard to know what to say, I think we all know it's kind of happening. But we're still working our way into figuring out what to say or how to say it.

Laurel Dobrozsi 

You know, we're all taught like what to do in case of a fire or like what to do in a lockdown situation. But talking about mental health and mental health crisis, I think people are afraid of the... there's a stigma around it, people don't want to seem like crazy or vulnerable, or like, they don't have their stuff together, you know. And so, I think it's an important topic, because, you know, at times, not to put it bluntly, but I think it can come down to life or death. And I think also, the topic is important, because it's completely normal. It's part of the human experience to have feelings, especially hard feelings, and it's all about finding a way to navigate those when they come up.

Justine Ferrer 

I think one thing that's like, really stood out to me, when it comes to the conversation of mental health, mental illness, and you know, mental health crises, is that like, not everyone is going to have a mental illness, but everybody has mental health. So regardless of like the size of your problems, it's still going to be completely irrelevant.

Laurel Dobrozsi 

A mental health challenge can be something as simple as you know, today, I feel sad. Today, I feel low, I don't really feel myself today. And I think that's something that everybody definitely experiences.

Meredith Aliff 

So next thing I want to move into, and obviously, you can share as little or as much as you would like about this, but I just kind of wanted to get any parts of your all's story, whether that's mental health, specifically in college, or just in general that, that you see as important experiences to maybe share as like, Hey, this is real, this happens type situation.

Laurel Dobrozsi 

Something that I struggled a lot with during my time in college was trying to find a balance of all the important relationships in my life. Also finding a way to be able to communicate my emotions with others without feeling like I would be a burden to them, or feeling like that was going to be the end of that relationship, because I decided to be honest about how I was feeling. And I would consider myself a very independent person who tries to always have their head on their shoulders. But you know, that's not always realistic. And by going to therapy, I was able to better understand myself and learn how to communicate with others about my feelings. And I think also being in situations where I had people, my loved ones, that were struggling, and just not knowing how to help. And like feeling paralyzed in the situation. I think that kind of made me want to learn more about mental health. And I think that's a big part of my story.

Meredith Aliff 

Yeah, great.

Justine Ferrer 

I so my mental health journey kind of began before college. So I've pretty much struggled with anxiety since I was a kid. And then later on, struggled with depression, and an eating disorder. So these were all things that I kind of anticipated would probably still affect me going into college. And along with that, you know, along with the transition, and then joining a division one athletic team, I knew that it was probably going to be something that would get really overwhelming at times. And so as much as I didn't want to think about it, I knew that I had to prioritize some things or do things a little bit differently, and anticipate that type of change. So I had started therapy when I was about 16. And then, you know, all the way through high school, and then going to college. It was kind of just like, oh god, how am I supposed to handle this? Like, what does this look like now? Which is super interesting, because I think like for a little bit, I thought I could get away with like, maybe not going to check in with somebody every once in a while, and then very quickly figured out that that was probably not the best idea. And then it backfired a little bit. But yeah, so that was kind of my transition into mental health in college.

Meredith Aliff 

Yeah, absolutely. Well, that's I think you segued really well into what I was going to ask next. But I think that your answer was really good. And that going from before college to now being in college, it's kind of important to almost anticipate like, things are going to be, if not harder, at least different. And being ready, mentally ready, to be like, Okay, we're gonna have to adjust because this is not the same as it was before. It's a new place living on your own, like, all these different factors come in. And we don't know how we're going to react to those things until we're in it. And that's one thing that was crazy for me is like, there are some things about college that do not stress me, they do not bother me, I'm totally okay. And there's other things that like, have my full attention all the time totally stressed me out. And it's not at all what I expected out of ... you know, like, I thought maybe I would be super stressed about this thing. And I'm not. But kind of having the understanding or like grasp that things are going to be different no matter what is really important when you're transitioning into college.

Justine Ferrer 

Yeah, I think sometimes it's not even ... like, there are things that you can totally anticipate. But sometimes it's just like, I think in college, during the first year, I experienced it myself, and I've watched a bunch of other people go through it in their first year, there's just going to be one of those weeks where next thing you know, everything is overwhelming, or all of a sudden, you just get flooded with a bunch of feelings. It's not, it's not the most pleasant experience, but it happens to everyone.

Laurel Dobrozsi 

It's like before college like high school and graduation, it just feels like your world is about to get completely flipped upside down. Like you're like, I have no idea what I'm going to do. Everything seems super scary, you're away from home and all that. But before coming to college, I would say my mental health was not at its best because of all of those reasons. And I think college really, actually helped me kind of get out of that funk because of how many things are new and just seeing it go right, day by day. And I think college brings a lot of new opportunities and a lot of exciting things: you get to meet so many new people, find many new hobbies and passions. And it's really exciting, actually. Yeah,

Justine Ferrer 

I think like, what is it ... one thing too is I think some people even go into college with like, an expectation of, I'm going to do this, and I'm going to be a part of that organization. And this is my major, and this is how my life is going to go. And when you have some things that are just so planned. And the second that something kind of goes... When something strays away from that plan, it can be the most stressful thing on the planet. And the fun thing about college is it really is that time to kind of just explore and kind of go with the flow, let things kind of go unexpected, because now it's like the best time to just trial run. Yeah, exactly. We love a trial.

Meredith Aliff 

Absolutley, and I think about ... there were people I went to a small private school, we had some geniuses, all right, like these kids were on top of it. They had exactly what they wanted to do with their lives for the next at least 20 years planned out to a tee. And they were somehow handling it, all the way through. I would have days in high school even where I was like, how are you doing this right now? Like, it just snowed a foot outside, and we had to come to school anyways, and you're gonna sit here and be happy about it, like, come on. But they always had their stuff together. And there's a big part of me now, after experiencing college for as long as I have that I'm like, I wonder if they broke? Like, I wonder if they had their moment of just, like, something maybe so miniscule changed. And it just threw them over the edge.

Justine Ferrer 

Yeah, I think the comparison game was something that I learned was a game that I probably shouldn't have played. When I would look at everybody else around me, and it felt like everybody had their stuff together. I was sitting there going, Why am I the only one who is struggling? When the reality of it is everybody has their own thing. And so the comparison, it's not a fun game to play with yourself.

Laurel Dobrozsi 

And I think people probably look at you and they're like, Oh, she just has everything together. You know?

Meredith Aliff 

Yeah. I mean, I think about that, even with my acapella group that I'm in right now, when I joined the group, there was a girl that was the music director and she was the president of her sorority and the music director of this group and part of the MUFD ,like, she was a model for them, like doing all this stuff. I was like, holy moly, like she's really got it all together. And now being in the position of music director that she was in before. I like text her all the time I'm like, There's no way you were doing. Like, this is insane. And she was like, oh, no, like it was crazy. Like it was absolutely insane. But everybody gives off, especially when you compare somebody from the exterior to how you're feeling interiorly, it can be very difficult to see like that somebody might be having a difficult time.

Justine Ferrer 

Yeah, I think it's really easy to definitely feel like people are looking at you. And you know, making their judgments about how they perceive you're handling things. And one of the best advice that I've ever gotten from somebody -- shout out to my dietician -- was that people are selfish. The joke is actually people are shellfish. Everybody's a crab. But, no, really, I've everybody's focusing on them. So the likelihood that anybody's making judgments about how you're doing is probably very unlikely.

Meredith Aliff 

Absolutely, absolutely. What do you wish more students knew about mental health, mental issues, just the topic of mental health, especially when entering the college situation? What do you wish that people had already, like, in their heads coming in.

Justine Ferrer 

I think one thing that was super important for me, was kind of understanding my support system. Because the likelihood that you're going to kind of just go through a little bit of a rough patch, at any point at life, but especially during like that time, when you're entering college, it's important to feel like you have people to turn to in those moments. And if you're in a new environment with new people, and you're surrounded by people, and you have this expectation that you're supposed to maybe rely on the people who are right there in front of you at school, like, I think that's a little bit of an ask. So like, it's totally okay, to just stay connected with people from home, or from high school, and all of these things, it's, it's totally okay to reach out to your people. And realize that sometimes in college, especially right at the beginning of college, it's probably like, you might struggle a little bit to find your people. But that also doesn't mean that there aren't any people right here. It's just it takes maybe a little bit of time. And that varies from person to person.

Meredith Aliff  

Yeah, especially with like the amount that you are willing to open up because it can be really difficult to open up and even make basic friendships when you first get here. So then finding people that can then become your support system is a really big task sometimes

Justine Ferrer 

it's like, you're probably not going to find like your immediate support system, when everybody's like in the dorms for the first time with their doors wide open. And everybody's like, "Hey, you want to be my support system?" Like, that's just unfortunately not how that works. Can you imagined like trying on people at the dorm being like, are you my style?

Meredith Aliff 

Yeah, literally, literally.

Justine Ferrer 

The first time is like, you want to go to the dining hall. Okay, also, what's your experience with mental health?

Meredith Aliff 

Tell me everything.

Laurel Dobrozsi 

I think one thing that I wish more students would know about the topic before coming into college is just, plain and simple, know that having a mental health challenge is not a weakness. It's okay to have your feelings. It's okay to be vulnerable. And, like we've been saying, it's okay to reach out for support when you need it. And I think as long as you remember that, then you're good to go.

Meredith Aliff 

Yeah. So then moving to the maybe support system like parents and professors. What do you wish that they knew more about?

Laurel Dobrozsi 

I think I just wish that more parents and professors took the topic more seriously. And I think we are starting to see a shift in how mental health is being talked about and addressed. And I think that's really good. But I think it's especially important for parents and professors to understand how to listen non judgmentally because the likelihood of someone going to a parent or a professor during a mental health challenge as a first contact is pretty high. And so I think whether they view those concerns as real or not, I think everyone just wants to feel supported.

Justine Ferrer 

I think I wish that parents were more educated on how to handle mental health. I don't think that all parents are equipped with the knowledge of how to have those tough conversations with their child. I think that like, it's totally fair to maybe even start that dialogue before college even starts about, you know, like, "I am a safe person that you can go to" or if I'm not here or other people that you can turn to. And I think that conversation, totally like can make makes such a difference for somebody to kind of have a plan, or like know the steps to take, if they feel like things are kind of, you know, getting more challenging.

Meredith Aliff 

Yeah. And one thing that I wanted to touch on, I am an older sister to three brothers. And one thing that I wanted to touch on just specifically about seeing them grow up is teachers, coaches, you know, adult mentors in their lives the "Don't cry," why are you .... like, "you cannot cry? Why are you crying? Be a man grow up." like, those words and trying to cut those types of things out of adults vocabulary when you're raising a child. And I mean, boys and girls, but just specifically with my brothers, the things that their coaches say to them. I mean, one of them plays basketball, the other two play hockey, like big old manly, like, you know, all this stuff. And it can be... it can set the stage for them to not feel like they can ask for help.

Justine Ferrer 

Yeah, I think it's huge for people to be able to verbalize how they're feeling, and what their experiences and being a person that somebody can tell how they're feeling is like, for me, personally, that feels awesome. And it feels awesome to have that type of person. So I think for adults, coaches, professors, I think it's important to really encourage, you know, emotional intelligence, and encourage conversation, you know, be that role model and mentor that doesn't only say that they support it, but really shows it.

Meredith Aliff 

Yeah, absolutely. We kind of have touched on stereotypes that exist on college campuses, talking about looking around and constantly comparing yourself to these people that quote, "have it all together." Are there any others that you can kind of think of just stereotypes on college campuses, or just college in general, surrounding mental health?

Laurel Dobrozsi 

I think just like grind culture of college, and also feeling like, you have to meet everybody's expectation for this new part of your life. I remember, senior year of high school, the only question I ever got asked when I was around family was, "so what are you doing next?" And I think in college, it kind of feels like there's a pressure to like, make sure that everybody's happy. But at the end of the day, you're the one living with yourself, and you got to make sure you're happy and doing what you want to do.

Justine Ferrer 

Yeah. Oh, boy. I think that mental health is still a hush hush. I think it's really common for people to kind of just talk about mental health in a very sarcastic and like joking manner. And I think that's the way that a lot of us are comfortable talking about it. So I think it's important to kind of move away from that.

Meredith Aliff 

The first thing that came to my head when thinking about stereotypes is almost bragging about things that are not good for your mental health, like somebody saying, like, oh, like, "I'm 100% gonna do better than all the people on this exam. Because I didn't sleep at all last night, I stayed up, and I studied all night, and I pulled an all nighter, and I only ate one meal." 

Justine Ferrer 

And I've had 15 cups of coffee, right? Like the pain Olympics is so real. And it is not the Olympics that you should want to participate in. I think that, yeah, people do want to pride themselves on things that don't promote wellness. And it's totally okay to pride yourself on taking care of yourself in the way that, you know, is actually healthy.

Meredith Aliff 

Absolutely.

Justine Ferrer 

You can be proud of being like, I got eight hours of sleep. And I drank water and hydrated myself today. And I ate meals like a normal person.

Laurel Dobrozsi 

It's cool to take care of yourself.

Justine Ferrer 

It is so cool to take care of yourself.

Meredith Aliff 

And it can be fun, like getting the correct amount of meals, like, have some fun recipes, go to Kroger and like meal prep, like, that's so fun. Like it's a stress reliever.

Justine Ferrer 

Try all the desserts at the dining hall with your friends, rank them on a tear list or something, like ...

Meredith Aliff 

Yes, or like one thing from each station, which stations the best? Mine will always be the pizza station. But that's just me. Always

Justine Ferrer 

Now if there's like a build your own burrito.

Meredith Aliff 

Okay, very fair. Yeah. So what is the benefit of normalizing conversations about mental health and normalizing mental health in general, what is going to be an important result of that?

Justine Ferrer 

Well, I think it's one thing to share your story. And I think it's so important to share your story. But I also think that it's important to kind of continue on with "what to do next" and knowing how to kind of plan. And so I think it's important to be able to say, "Hey, this is what I'm struggling with." And somebody also being able to kind of guide you in the direction of steps you can do and the steps you can take to help yourself.

Laurel Dobrozsi 

Yeah, I was just gonna say that normalizing really takes off the pressure of seeking help when needed. And I think we all just want to be happy and enjoy this life that we have with the people that we love. And I think, by normalizing that we can start taking steps in that direction.

Justine Ferrer 

I think normalizing definitely makes things so much less scary. Like, it's normal to feel super nervous or scared of maybe reaching out for help. But if you normalize the conversation, it doesn't feel like something that you have to hide. It doesn't have to be something that's at the forefront of your personality, either. It's not something that defines you.

Meredith Aliff 

Absolutely, absolutely. I 100%. Agree, I think it will allow people to feel more comfortable actually doing something about it. If enough people are talking about it. So I want to talk about resources. So what kind of resources exist in general and then maybe things that you've noticed on campus that exist?

Laurel Dobrozsi 

All right, you ready? I have a list.

Justine Ferrer 

She is prepared and ready.

Laurel Dobrozsi 

All right. So for immediate help, always call 911. But you have the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and their number is one 800 273 TALK, or 1-800-273-8255. They also provide calling options for Spanish speakers and deaf or hard of hearing individuals. And you can find out more about them at thier website www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.  You also have the Crisis Text Line where you can text HOME to 741741 for free 24/7 crisis counseling, and you can also visit their website at www.crisistextline.org. I would also recommend looking at your desired college's website for mental health resources. This could be found under a student counseling tab or possibly by going to the search bar and just searching mental health resources. I would also look into your state's resources on their state website. So for Ohio, we have a website for mental health and addiction services. And they provide a variety of resources at mha.ohio.gov. And less thought about resources are just people in your support system. This could be friends, family, teachers, professors, therapists, counselors, doctors or anyone you trust. If you are ever in a position where you need help navigating someone through a mental health crisis, you can use the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline by calling or texting. Once on the phone, they will help you navigate the situation correctly. And if you are interested in getting Mental Health First Aid certified, you can visit mentalhealthfirstaid.org. And there you can sign up for training and also find super important resources.

Meredith Aliff 

Wow, thank you so much for all that.

Justine Ferrer 

I also have a lovely list, at least ones of Miami resource. So yeah, here at Miami, we definitely have the Student Counseling Center. I know recently, they've been advertising like dog therapy several times a week. And let me tell you, those are some of the cutest dogs that I have ever seen. A lot of student counseling centers also host group therapy, and a lot of the times that stuff's free on college campuses. So if you know you can't access an individual counselor or a therapist, those are some helpful resources. There's the Butler County Crisis Line, which you can call 844-427-4747. And there's also so many resources available online. telebehavioral behavioral health is like an up and coming thing. So no matter what state you're in, there's a lot of things available online that you could possibly look into, if you need to find a therapist who's available. And for my student athletes out there. One thing about hitting an opponent is that our campus captains really want to make sure that student athletes, and just students in general, know their resources. So there's probably a chance that if you have a campus captain at your campus, that they will have a list of other local resources and never forget most athletic departments, you should be able to go to your trainer to get in contact with a team doctor, and they should be able to guide you to some resources too

Meredith Aliff 

Absolutely. Well, thank you guys so much. That's super helpful for people to have that kind of all laid out because I feel like sometimes you do kind of have to run around to find all the pieces.

Justine Ferrer 

It can be a jungle trying to navigate all those resources. You don't know what tabs to click, like websites all over the place.

Meredith Aliff  

Yeah. But it is there, it definitely is there, which is super important. So let's say we have a student who is considering seeking out any of the services that you guys have mentioned, what what kind of advice would you give for a student like that?

Laurel Dobrozsi 

You don't have to do it alone, ask for help. Most people would be willing to help if you ask, just don't be afraid to advocate for yourself.

Justine Ferrer 

Yeah, I know, something that's really helped me is asking a friend to kind of be with me to kind of hold me accountable to make that call, or help me send an email that needs to be sent. I think sometimes it can be helpful. If you're like stressed to talk on the phone, I have totally written out exactly what I need to say.

Laurel Dobrozsi 

Same!

Justine Ferrer 

And usually it goes to plan. Usually like you can anticipate the questions that they're going to ask you.

Meredith Aliff 

Yeah, no, but I love going back to that, once again, having that support system from day one of adults and peers and family members who are going to be people that you can have hold your hand and do those things. Because it is very daunting to think about actually taking the step because there are so many unknowns following that. You're like, "Okay, so we made the call. And I'm now going to talk to somebody once a week. And oh, my gosh, what are we going to talk about? Like, what are they going to ask me about? What are we going to learn?" And having people there is very, very important. So do you guys have any final thoughts that you would like to share before we close out today,

Laurel Dobrozsi 

I know that a lot about what we talked about today is heavy. And you may be listening, because you are overwhelmed by the thought of college and how to navigate all of the stressors. But I just want you to know, whoever may be listening, that you're so loved and things will work out. And I truly do believe in taking it one day at a time. And you're about to experience so many amazing things. And it's all going to be worth it. I promise.

Justine Ferrer 

You said that so nicely. Im like how do I even like follow up with that? Yeah, I think oh, gosh, you can totally do it. Like, let us be -- big sister moment -- like, you are far more capable than you think, you are so ready to do this. Coming from somebody who didn't think that they were going to be okay in college. Like, things turn out. No matter how bad you think things are, there's totally a way you can make things work out. Yeah. Like it is not the end. And there are so many opportunities, and so many things to look forward to when you're in college.

Meredith Aliff 

Absolutely. I think that needs to definitely be said, especially, like you said, it is a heavy episode. But there are so many amazing parts of college and having the resources and the mental health to get through it and completely immerse yourself and get the most out of it is how you're going to have the most successful experience here. Well, it has been amazing. And I just really appreciate you guys taking time out of your day to be here and educate and just talk. I so appreciate what you guys are doing.

Justine Ferrer 

Thank you for having us.

Laurel Dobrozsi 

Thank you for having us on.

Meredith Aliff 

Of course, of course! We want to thank Justine Ferrer and Laurel Dobrozsi for being here to share their stories and insight. We'll also include links to the resources we talked about in the show notes and thank you so much for listening to this episode of Major Insight.