Balancing Academics and Mental Health

Balancing academics and mental health anywhere, but perhaps especially at CMU, can feel like a tricky road to navigate. Coming into college with interests in psychology and neuroscience, and as my high school’s Wellness Commissioner, I knew that I was interested in not only learning about mental health but also how to care for my own while developing academically. 

All of this is solely from my personal experience and reflection, but something I’ve found important is that prioritizing academic and career goals does not have to be independent of prioritizing mental health and wellbeing. Pursuing projects, research or class work that I’m passionate about, even though they are heavily entwined with my career aspirations, genuinely brings me joy and fuels my drive intrinsically. While I know that certain experiences and obligations may be unrelated to my career and can feel unique, I’ve found that identifying what adds to your happiness and leaning into community is helpful in supporting mental health, even while engaging in challenging academics and life experiences simultaneously. 

In my personal experience, while academics can definitely contribute to stress, I seem to find that it is the compounding with other events, obligations and experiences that leads to the most heightened times of need to prioritize my mental health. While leaving prior support systems and entering a new environment meant that I needed to figure out a new system amidst rigorous academics, I’ve found a lot of great support systems both at CMU and within myself. Leaning into things that support my unique needs at the time has been helpful and often looks like finding social support, spending time on personal hobbies and directly addressing things that may be causing stress. Being part of mental health spaces and organizations at CMU like Here for You has been beneficial in providing safe spaces to just relax, discuss and advocate for mental health initiatives, get work done and support one another in really any aspect of life. 

Upon arrival at CMU, something older students told my orientation group stuck with me: “you can’t be a student if you’re not a person first.” For me, making space to do what makes me happy, even when I’m busy with other engagements, and truly striving to understand what I need at different moments has been greatly beneficial to caring for my mental health. 

Sometimes it feels like I’m at risk of sacrificing academic goals for the sake of my mental health, but I remind myself that taking some time to recharge and maintain balance makes it so that I can be more mentally and physically well in order to encourage my being a student (especially by sleeping). I find that I reconnect with myself and gain a sense of peace when I have time to be alone for activities I enjoy like journaling, planning, cooking and exploring new places in Pittsburgh. 

At the same time, finding and being part of communities at school and beyond can be a great support, whether you’re going on fun excursions, having meaningful discussions or just knowing you have people you can trust to be there for you. Community is truly everywhere and has certainly felt accessible to me during my time at CMU. Whether it be friends, student organizations, teaching assistants or professors, it’s incredibly reassuring to know that there’s a whole network of genuine people who want one another to be more than just okay. Thus, whether it’s the time I make with my community or just my own company, I continue to learn that – while sometimes tricky – caring for mental health can absolutely be prioritized while pursuing academics at CMU. 

Sometimes when I feel lowest in capacity is when I lean most on self-care, like taking time to call my mom, playing with my stationery to plan out what I’m going to do and going out to dinner with friends. While my experiences sometimes feel unique, I’m quickly reminded (even if it’s by my own doing) that none of us are ever truly alone – something I think everyone should remember. I’ve been surprised by how relatable some others’ experiences have been to my own. So even when my experiences seem unique to me, I’m comforted by the knowledge that there are empathetic ears and arms to provide support – whether it’s those in the CMU community or simply my own.