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Runner Ready Mental Health 02
CSU Bakersfield Athletic Communications

General Written by Ron Stapp

CSUB Student-Athletes Attend `Runner Ready Mental Health Session

Asking for help can be difficult for some people, especially when that assistance might require formal counseling. Too often there is a stigma attached to seeking professional help and some aren't even aware of what resources are available.

To make things easier for student-athletes, and perhaps debunk some of the apprehension about counseling in general, the Cal State Bakersfield `Runner Ready program teamed up with the CSUB Counseling Center to provide a mental health session in the Icardo Room on Tuesday night.

Eighty student-athletes from a variety of sports programs on campus attended the event, presented by Dr. Michael Harville and Ruth Miles, two of the four licensed counselors on campus.

"I think for a lot of these students, sometimes they haven't ever really talked to a mental health professional," Harville said. "But by being here, they can discover that we are more approachable and somebody that maybe they would be comfortable talking to. And by sharing some of the things that people are coming in and talking to us about, it's very likely that they've experienced some of those, too. Then they may be more likely to come in and talk about it, feel better and function better in their lives."

During the 90-minute presentation, Harville and Miles answered questions from the student-athletes and also highlighted the services offered from the Counseling Center.

Some of the most common concerns centered around stress, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, relationships, trauma, sexual assault, grief or loss, substance abuse, financial stress, career assistance, living situation, family, sexual orientation, the future, low motivation, poor sleep and eating problems.

"A lot of scholar-athletes tend to ignore their mental health," said Ronald "Doc" Waller, CSUB's `Runner Ready/Life Skills coordinator. "When I came through college, there was no such thing as mental health when it came to athletics. It was no pain, no gain, which is not realistic. First and foremost you have to have self care. You have to take care of yourself first, before you can perform on a high level mentality. You have to be locked in. Sometimes when they're not performing to their true potential, it starts to affect them mentally."

Some of the other topics covered in the session related to what Harville refers to as a mental diet, which deals with what the athletes see on social media and what is happening in real life. Another important aspect of mental health is taking care of the emotional diet, helping student-athletes work their way through drama and achieve a more peaceful existence.

But getting the student-athletes to ask for help isn't always easy.

To combat this apprehension, Harville feels it is important for the students to understand that everybody needs help sometimes and that seeking counseling does not suggest that you are weak or mentally ill. Everyone is bound to have at least a few major events during college and stress, depression, anxiety and relationship problems are common. Ultimately, counseling is about personal growth, developing a greater insight and managing your problems better.

"Anxiety seems to really be going up," Harville said. "Social anxiety, loneliness at times, and we see a lot of students having grief, experiencing loss for the first time and really not knowing how to manage that. Many times it can come with tears, and so they are very cautious of bringing it up around their friends who they normally talk to. So just sort of holding that inside without very many outlets and maybe not having family that they can talk to them about it. We give them an outlet." 

And the counseling services are free for students, paid for by enrollment registration fees.

"It's important that the students know that it's free and easy, and that doesn't have to be a really serious problem," Harville said. "No matter what the reason is, they can come and talk to us. They are more than welcome to come and check in and see if maybe it's something that we can help with."

The CSUB Counseling Center is located in the Rivendell building adjacent to the Kegley Center. It is open Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Students can call (661) 654-3366 to set up an appointment. For afterhours services, press 2.
 
~GoRunners.com~
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