A Student’s Perspective on Mental Health: A Journey toward Healing and Hope
By Shawniece Mitchell, Contributor
May 1, 2025
As May marks Mental Health Awareness Month, I reflect deeply on what mental health truly means to me, as a young woman and a student at Xavier University of Louisiana. On a campus filled with so much Black excellence, resilience, and pride, mental health can often feel like an invisible battle, one that is fought quietly behind the glow of achievements and bright smiles.
Mental health is not just a catchy word or a trending topic. It is often personal. For example, those living with bipolar depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses can feel isolated and misunderstood. Being at an HBCU has been a beautiful, empowering experience, but it also comes with its challenges when dealing with mental health. Vulnerability can sometimes feel like a weakness in spaces where strength is celebrated.
Growing up in a Black household, mental health was not something talked about openly. Conversations about depression, therapy, or even feeling “not okay” were often met with tough love or religious cliché: “Pray about it,” “You’ll be okay,” or “You don’t have time to be weak.” These attitudes make it difficult to recognize the need for help, let alone ask for it.
College has a way of bringing every struggle to the surface. The pressure to perform well academically, be socially active, and care for personal needs takes its toll. Pretending to be okay when under immense pressure does more harm than good. I was lucky to find good people who cared about me and would listen when I needed someone to listen. I could sit in a room and be honest about what I was going through without fear of judgment.
The recent loss of a fellow Xavierite shook our campus to its core. Their passing was a heartbreaking reminder that so many of us are fighting battles that are not visible to the outside world. Similarly, the death of LSU football player Kyren Lacy by suicide added to the grief felt across Louisiana’s college campuses – and nationwide. These devastating losses remind us that mental health struggles are real, urgent, and often hidden beneath smiles. It reminded me that mental health awareness is not just critical, it’s lifesaving. The consequences can be devastating when we do not discuss or address them.
Mental health means permitting oneself to feel, hurt, and heal. It means dismantling the idea that seeking help is a weakness. It means creating a new legacy for oneself and future generations, where it is normal for students to have therapists, safe spaces, coping mechanisms, and support systems.
At Xavier, we are fortunate to have these spaces to reach out. Students can call Xavier’s Office of Counseling and Wellness at 504-520-7315 or contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 if they need immediate support. But beyond hotlines and office hours, we need a culture where checking in on each other is normalized. Where “How are you?” is asked with the intention to listen.
Mental health is not just a personal responsibility; it’s a community responsibility. This Mental Health Awareness Month, I hope we continue to fight for a world, starting with our campuses, where mental health is seen not as an afterthought but as a vital part of who we are.
We deserve to heal. We deserve to thrive. We deserve to live.