Mental health is a very important topic, and it’s up to us as a student body to create an environment where we can talk about it (more) openly. That’s why the BQ Broadside decided to send out an anonymous mental health survey—to better understand how everyone at Bard is really feeling. Our goal is quite simple: we want to understand the challenges the student population might be facing and explore how our school community can better support one another.
That being said, let’s start off the recap for September. The survey mostly asked questions aimed at understanding how students are feeling about their mental health, the challenges they face, and what kind of support they think is needed (questions like, “How often did you feel stressed or overwhelmed this month?” and “How comfortable do you feel talking about your mental health with someone at school?”). And the results show a lot of important insights into our overall mental health as a student body, and it’s definitely a conversation we need to have.
Firstly, a majority of students mentioned that their mental health was “okay” at best, with very few students saying they felt great or pretty good and a lot more of the other respondents being on the lower end of the choices. On top of that, a lot of students said they were dealing with constant stress, mainly because of schoolwork and some social pressures. It’s pretty clear that a lot of us are already feeling the pressure of academic life, which is surprising given how early in the school year it is. It shows that we could really benefit from having more open conversations about managing stress and balancing our workload.
Another key finding from the survey was that sleep is a major issue. Over 75% of students said their sleep quality has worsened as school has started, and this is probably linked to how overwhelmed many of us feel. What really stood out, however, is that despite these struggles, most students also haven’t turned to self-care or coping strategies yet. That’s something we definitely need to work towards because it’s important to take time for ourselves, even when things start to get really busy.
Additionally, there’s a significant concern around the comfort level of discussing mental health with others, especially adults at school. Many students feel unsure about reaching out for help, which makes it even more necessary for us to create an environment where mental health conversations are more normalized and accessible. Some students had great suggestions, like having regular mental health check-ins during advisory and better scheduling for when teachers assign tests or major projects—which is something we should work towards and start to give a push to implement by reaching out to school administrators and staff to discuss potential changes as a community.
Overall, this survey highlighted that many students need more mental health support and that changes like making more room for mental health discussions and more accessibility of mental health resources and/or even teachers coordinating major assignments/exams better could make a huge difference. Working together to find solutions that can enhance everyone’s well-being this school year is essential.
This is just the beginning! We’ll be conducting these surveys throughout the school year to keep gathering your thoughts. Each round will give us valuable insights into the atmosphere of our school. Ultimately, this is all about making Bard a better, more supportive place for everyone.