In the hustle and bustle of campus life, emotions often move as quickly as we do. We face challenges, opportunities, and frustrations that ignite our emotional centers, sometimes intensely. However, there is power in pausing, sitting with our emotions, and intentionally considering our response.

Now more than ever, campus mental health is dominated by the narrative of a crisis, painted as a dire picture of never-ending anxiety and depression among students, staff, and faculty. We now have opportunity to deconstruct the singular “crisis” narrative and consider more complex and nuanced understandings of campus mental health.

When talking to students in distress, we are more effective when we are active listeners. It is a path of less responsibility and greater effectiveness when we use active listening rather than the more commonly used approach of attempting to fix, make better, or solve.