As Texas A&M’s positive COVID-19 cases continue to rise day-by-day, students feel the physical and emotional toll.
Maintaining health and safety procedures and handling the stress of classes are two of many responsibilities that can weigh students down during this time. With so much to worry about, students like English senior Madi Telschow are noticing the downfall of their mental health.
“The way that I have felt during this quarantine is that I’m constantly on the edge of this cliff,” Telschow said. “I feel like I have to be doing everything possible to maintain my mental health being that I struggle with mental illness. If I don’t do my perfect routine or I don’t take my meds for even one day, I almost fear that I’m going to fall off that cliff.”
On top of the pressure of being a college student, Telschow said maintaining her mental well-being has been anything but easy.
“Having to be so self-disciplined and being self-aware has almost been anxiety-inducing for me,” Telschow said. “I think I’ve been really fortunate that aside from the stress of the situation we are facing, I haven’t gone into this deep depression, but it definitely does put me down a little.”
To remain optimistic while surrounded by her bedroom walls in quarantine, Telschow said she is overcoming the feeling of isolation by pouring herself into her activities and organizations.
“I’m still just trying to remain consistent with those organizations that I’ve committed myself to,” Telschow said. “It is a really good way to just keep my head up and keep on keepin’ on towards a goal.”
To end the stigma of mental illness on college campuses, Active Minds TAMU is hard at work continuing to promote the importance of students’ well-being during this difficult time.
Active Minds president and visualization junior Margaret Myers said that although doing most activities through a virtual format makes it easy for students to isolate themselves, the importance of social interaction remains unchanged.
“The abrupt change in our academic environments was difficult to adjust to in the beginning,” Myers said. “I think it is incredibly important to maintain social interactions during these times, whether that be through Zoom or in small groups. Setting time aside for [that] and going outside can be incredibly beneficial.” 
Even with each curveball COVID-19 throws, Myers said she is confident that following through with a familiar routine will help take a bit of weight off students’ shoulders. 
“I think continuing to do our regular programs and trying to keep everything as normal as possible, just in a different format, is incredibly beneficial,” Myers said. “We are still able to carry out our mission…and I think we will be able to incorporate a lot of things we have learned from this [into] our future programming.”
With so much to worry about, Telschow said maintaining a consistent self-care routine could help students find a daily purpose. 
“Getting up every day, getting in the shower and putting on a cute outfit all sounds really trivial,” Telschow said. “But it at least gets me out of bed. It has me acknowledge that today is a new day, and there is joy to be found.” 
A&M Counseling and Psychological Services is not currently taking walk-in appointments according to their website, but appointments can be scheduled at caps.tamu.edu. HelpLine is a phone service offered through CAPS and can be reached at (979) 845-2700 on weekdays from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. and 24 hours a day on weekends.