As midterms approach, Augustana increasingly advertises mental health services around campus. In addition to notices in the student bulletin and posters placed in academic buildings, an alum returned to campus on Oct. 12 to speak about mental health for Symposium Day. 

Co-founder of The Gray Matters Collective and Augustana alum Haley DeGreve presented on the importance of recognizing mental health as an issue as essential as physical health. The presentation discussed her journey to defy the stigmas around mental health. 

As students study for midterms and stress increases, the need for mental health resources increases as well.

In addition to counseling services, Augustana students have access to mental health resources through The Gray Matters Collective and Augie NAMI, organizations that create mental health awareness and support at Augustana. 

Augie NAMI is a student-run club affiliated with The National Alliance on Mental Illness. NAMI holds weekly meetings Monday nights in Olin 201 where students are always welcome to attend.

Senior Tatum Higgs, president of NAMI, has been a part of the club since her sophomore year. According to Higgs, one of the reasons she joined NAMI was to navigate moving back to campus after being sent home at the start of the pandemic. Through NAMI, students can get support from their peers.

“We really just try to be there so that way if people want to come and talk, they can or if they even just need a place where they can listen to other people and just shut things out for an hour and take a break,” Higgs said.

Kelsey Notestein, a senior psychology major who joined NAMI her freshman year, says she is a member because it helps her with her own struggles and supports others in theirs. 

“I really want to help people who struggle with mental health,” Notestein said. “I have my own struggles, and NAMI really helps me de-stress and just kind of get my feelings out.” 

As the semester is reaching its midpoint, students might experience elevated levels of stress, and one way they can help themselves is through acts of self-care.

“If I had to give one piece of advice that would just be to take care of yourself,” Higgs said. “I know that can look like a lot of different things for a lot of different people.”

Students are encouraged to prioritize their mental health and take the time, even if it’s just ten minutes a day, to do something they enjoy.