According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 80% of college students feel overwhelmed by their responsibilities, but 40% do not seek help. Today, a vast majority of college students are millennials, which is arguably the generation under the most stress.

Pace offers free counseling sessions for all students in hopes “to help students with the issues that bring them in and encourage their intellectual, emotional, and social development,” according to the counseling center’s mission statement. The counseling center offers services including, but not limited to: individual and group counseling, workshops, educational counseling, psychological assessment, and alcohol and other drug treatment referrals.

“I started using the counseling center because my depression and anxiety were getting out of control and I was bordering on suicidal tendencies,” junior Diana Kaltenborn said.

Kaltenborn utilized the counseling center for individual therapy starting last year and attended the wellness center while in high school.

“I no longer use the counseling center because I felt that my counselor was trying to push drugs on me instead of actually talking about my issues or taking them seriously, so I didn’t trust my therapist enough to continue going” Kaltenborn said. “I started seeing a counselor in town and I feel much more comfortable.”

Despite these somewhat questionable views of the counseling center, a new confidential resource for mental health will soon be made available to LGBTQ+ students. This support group will meet on Tuesday’s from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the counseling center. The sessions will be facilitated by cofounders Lisa Ciccone and Nick Jackson.

“While we encourage everyone to focus on and openly prioritize their mental health needs, we also recognize that marginalized individuals, such as LGBTQ+ students, face unique challenges and stressors at a societal level and as students here at Pace that others may not,” Jackson said.

Mental health is important for everyone to maintain, even for those who do not have a specific diagnosis. If verbal consolation is not therapeutic, there are individualized ways to manage mental health.

“I write out my feelings and reflect on it,” senior Christina Marciante said. “Writing helps me process what I’m going though and after, I usually realize that it is not as big of a deal as I originally thought it was.”

Others find it helpful to stay active and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

“If you see me running at the gym, that means I’m really stressed,” junior Marisa Moudatsos said. “I use music as my motivation to clear my head while I run.”

The counseling center is open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and available to students upon appointment. There are walk-in hours Monday through Friday from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.; these appointments are given by first come first serve.