kaitmeister

the smartest/most high performing students (and faculty) are struggling.

Can you elaborate on this at all? Personally, I am a high-performing student, but have not always been this way because of my mental health struggles. Ironically enough, I think a good chunk of how well I do in school is because of my mental-health-related perfectionism.

Do you mean that high performing people are especially struggling right now, or that they are struggling just like everyone else and this is something that is overlooked?

I'm not OP, but wanted to address the language in your post - people with mental illnesses are not "crazy", and the illnesses are not caused by weakness. These are stereotypes that do nothing but perpetuate stigma and make it harder for people to seek help. Please be aware of the impact that your words have.

Not OP, but can answer. It really depends on the person and situation. If you know they have a good relationship with family, that’s an option, but tread carefully; not everyone does and family can make things worse. If you don’t know, I would advise avoiding telling family and reach out to a close friend of theirs instead.

Crisis lines and chats can give good advice if you’re not sure what to do.

If they have a therapist or psychiatrist, you can reach out to them. They won’t be able to tell you anything if the person hasn’t signed a release, not even that they’re a client, and might not even respond to you, but they can take information from you and reach out to the person or bring it up in their next session.

If they’re not responding and you’re worried they’ll hurt themselves, call the police non-emergency line and request a welfare check. Again, tread carefully, especially if the person you’re worried about is a POC and/or prone to anger, psychosis, or is neurodiverse.

911 should only be called in a life-threatening situation.

I can see that you didn't understand how those words come off until now, but now you do. Don't call people with mental illnesses crazy or weak. They are inaccurate and offensive terms. Part of learning a foreign language is understanding how to properly use it.

Hi Ryan! I’m late to the game here, but how did you decide on MFT over counseling or social work? I’m an undergrad senior in psych and want to be a therapist, but there are so many options out there it’s hard to pick one - and my own anxiety doesn’t help!