In a wintery setting like Colgate University, mental and emotional health can significantly prevent people from maintaining healthy lifestyles. Students can develop symptoms of depression because of the short hours of sunlight, freezing temperatures and workload. Colgate has made many efforts to maintain a mentally healthy campus through health services and campus events.

The most professional healthcare option on campus is the Conant House Counseling Center. The Center has a team of mental health professionals that meets with members of the Colgate community. In addition to clinical services, they offer consultation, prevention, training and psycho-education. The Counseling Center is used more than many students realize, and they welcome all new appointments, which can be scheduled online.

For less formal healthy lifestyle education, the Shaw Wellness Institute is an important resource on campus of which many students fail to take advantage. The Institute is run with the purpose of addressing eight different components of Colgate students’ wellness: emotional, environmental, intellectual, multicultural, occupational, physical, social and spiritual.

“We really focus on having a healthy and balanced lifestyle, really just a whole well-rounded model. We have a lot of information to offer, just new ideas on how to take care of yourself and how to be responsible for your health,” Intern for the Shaw Wellness Institute senior Athena Feldshon said.

In order to accomplish its goals, the team at Shaw Wellness hosts, sponsors and funds several events each semester.

“We sponsor different groups across campus to help them fund events and promote the intersection of health and all different groups and demographics,” Intern for the Shaw Wellness Institute senior Allie Dyer said.

Everything from alcohol consumption talks and Brown Bag discussions to free food demos and meetings with a dietician, and everything in between, especially the study breaks with therapy dogs, are a part of promoting a healthy physical and mental atmosphere on campus.

Students on Colgate’s campus are working to promote awareness about such issues. An important organization founded and led by students is Active Minds, a national mental health organization that has an active chapter at Colgate. Although Active Minds serves as a student club with voluntary participation, it focuses on hosting events and speakers to promote mental health around Colgate University.

“I think that with all of these new mental health resources available to students there is going to be more awareness and more action against stigmatizing mental illness,” President of Active Minds junior Kristen Weiner said.

Weiner encouraged increased student participation in Active Minds-sponsored events in order to promote healthy lifestyles throughout the community.

“It shows us that our efforts as a group are really starting to diffuse throughout the campus,” Weiner said.

Look out for Active Minds’ “Post Secret” event in the O’Connor Campus Center and the Heiber Caf?e of Case Library at the end of this week, as well as other events throughout the semester.

These services and programs are not the only options for developing and sustaining a mentally and emotionally healthy lifestyle at Colgate, but they are some of the more prominent examples. For more information, visit Conant House, the Shaw Wellness Institute or the Active Minds page on Colgate’s Get Involved Web database.  

Contact Luke Parauda at [email protected].