May is Mental Health Awareness month, and university officials are speaking out about the specific stressors that may come with campus life.
While sharpening pencils and stacking books used to make up the soundtrack of college life, now students are facing the non-stop noise of alerts, reminders, and messages.
College student Chloe Kaiser, who is going to be a senior this fall, said juggling all of the expectations can be stressful.
“It's just the balancing act of everything,” she said. “It's kind of like, you want to be social, and you kind of have this push to hang out with people and to make these memories that last you a lifetime, right? But you're also getting a degree, and that's the reason why you're here."
Rising senior Sam Roth agrees.
"I study engineering, and that definitely takes up the majority of my time, and then (I’m) balancing that with extracurriculars, and trying to still stay doing all the things that I want to do while I'm here,” he said.
Jessica Harris, Ed.D., is the department chair of Health Promotion and Wellness and an associate professor at SUNY Oswego.
She said the university likes to teach students about the eight dimensions of wellness. Those include: physical, financial, occupational, intellectual, spiritual, social, emotional, and environmental wellness.
"You think about juggling. Can you juggle eight balls, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day? No, that would be very difficult, right?” she said. “And the most important thing is really teaching students, and also, anyone for that matter, our families, our friends, how to balance that, but also becoming educated on what to do when one does fall, when a ball does drop."
Harris said recent data from the National College Health Assessment shows in 2014, 47% of SUNY Oswego students reported experiencing anxiety. In 2026, that climbed to 72%.
Levels of depression rose from 28% to 47%, and the number of students experiencing stress and having suicidal thoughts also increased. Harris said the national data is similar and, in some cases, even higher.
Harris said the university is prioritizing health and wellness and showing students improving mental health doesn’t have to be hard.
"One of the biggest misconceptions is that wellness is something extra that you have to add to your schedule. In reality, wellness practices are what help you sustain success academically, but also personally, and those can be small things."
Harris said that could include building routines, sleeping more, going outside, and spending time with friends. Also, try limiting social media and being skeptical of any advice from influencers that seems extreme or inaccurate.
"That's how they're getting clicks,” she said. “That's how they're getting views, so really telling, teaching college students and the younger generation to be health literate and really look at what information they're getting and (asking) who is it from?"
And the students we spoke to say those strategies help.
"During finals week, I have to delete Instagram, and just like text everyone and be like, ‘By the way, I'm not ignoring you. I just cannot have the distraction with me constantly,’” said Kaiser.
And Harris said if a situation is too much to deal with alone, don’t hesitate to ask for help or ask a friend to help find the right resources.
SUNY Oswego has a “Hope Squad” to point students in the right direction when they’re struggling, and phone numbers to call or text for help are posted throughout the campus.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, or if you’re thinking about hurting yourself, you can call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
