{"id":9785,"date":"2026-04-02T19:40:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T19:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/?p=9785"},"modified":"2026-04-02T19:40:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T19:40:04","slug":"tips-for-improving-your-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/2026\/04\/02\/tips-for-improving-your-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for improving your mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION<\/a>) \u2014 March is a critical time for self-harm prevention and mental health awareness, with multiple days throughout the month dedicated to the two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As conversations surrounding mental health continue to grow, experts say understanding warning signs and seeking help early can make a significant difference for students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A mental health crisis is defined as an urgent, often sudden, and overwhelming situation where a person\u2019s emotions, thoughts, or behaviors make them unable to function, causing them to be at risk of harming themselves or others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TrojanVision spoke to a student who has experienced mental health struggles firsthand. He says poor mental health practices nearly caused him to leave school altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cMy first semester I had failed a few classes and also dropped out of some and I ended up on acting probation and he kind of just discourage me lie and I got to a very low point in my life, especially with in regards to my mental health and it took a lot. It took a lot out of me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The student continued, suggesting that thoughts such as these also lead to thoughts of suicide. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

2025 USC MIND CHALLENGE aims to reduce mental health stigma<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts say recognizing unhealthy mental health habits and knowing when to ask for help can be paramount to students\u2019 well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Kanessa Doss, a Troy University professor in the Department of Psychology, says there are often noticeable warning signs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWell, we see significant changes, particularly to say your appetite. If you’re eating a lot more, eating a lot less. If you’ve noticed that you have gained a lot of weight, lost a lot of weight within a two-week period, and you’re also feeling really down and out within that time, definitely the time that you may want to go and talk to the counseling center.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Difficulty concentrating or focusing can also be indicators that something is wrong. According to Doss, changes in sleep habits may signal a deeper concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIf you’re a person who are used to getting 7 to 9 hours and now you can only get two, this is something significant that you need to pay attention to. Or vice versa. If you’re a person who can get 7 to 9 hours and now you’re sleeping 15\u201316. This is something you pay attention to, and then you go and talk with someone to get the necessary help.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Doss says when a mental health crisis happens, anyone can become a first responder simply by supporting those around them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIf you listen to someone, they’re telling you they’re really having a hard time. This is a time to really affirm them, show them that they’re valued and help refer them to help that’s needed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Mental health professionals encourage students to remain aware of changes in their behavior, emotions, and daily habits and to seek campus resources when needed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) \u2014 March is a critical time for self-harm prevention and mental health awareness, with multiple days throughout the month dedicated to the two. <\/p>\n

As conversations surrounding mental health continue to grow, experts say understanding warning signs and seeking help early can make a significant difference for students.<\/p>\n

A mental health crisis…<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":9853,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1127],"tags":[2997,2645],"topics":[17],"class_list":["post-9785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-news","tag-troy-university-department-of-psychology","tag-troy-university-mental-health","topics-troy-campus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9785"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9852,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9785\/revisions\/9852"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9785"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=9785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}