How the DoSomething Community is Supporting Students' Mental Health

Thank you SO much for participating in the New State of Mind campaign. DoSomething members like you contributed 65,793 mental anti-stress tips that we’re compiling in a first-of-its kind mental health guide that’s for students, by students.

We’ll send the full guide out next month. In the meantime, check out some of our favorite tips from April-June, and meet our scholarship winners.

We know these are especially taxing times, especially for our Black members and other people of color. Check out this mental health guide for BIPOC (Black, indigenous, and people of color) folks. If you need someone to talk to immediately, text DS to 741-741 to be connected to a Crisis Counselor.

April

In April, we asked, “When you’re feeling stressed or anxious, what is one effective thing you do for self-care?”

“I unplug!” says DoSomething member Zykierra, 17. “I turn off all of my news sources on my phone and try to watch movies or TV shows or read books that I know have a happy ending just to pick myself up. I drink tea and relax and sometimes do an intense (or light, it doesn’t really matter) workout to take my mind off of things.”

Read: 11 of the best tips from April.

May

May’s New State of Mind prompt was, “Digital learning is in full effect. What is an issue that seems to stress out a lot of students in your school at this time?”

“Motivation is a huge factor in doing work. Due to COVID-19, the sudden move to digital learning has lowered many students' mental capacity to get their work done on time -- or at all, says DoSomething member Kimberly, 17. “I suggest that students make doing work a fun job! Maybe make a check-list, or reward yourself after a certain amount of work is completed. COVID-19 has put a lot of students in a funk, including myself. It is our responsibility to know our bodies and find out how to make us feel better! :)”

Read: 11 of the best tips from May.

June

Last month we asked, “What’s one way you plan to support a friend or family member’s mental health this summer?”

“I believe that mental health is crucial to acknowledge since it impacts a person all throughout. I can help my friends and family by checking upon them often by asking simple questions like: ‘How are you doing right now?’ or ‘Did you eat today?’” says DoSomething member Kadidiatou, 17. “Furthermore, if they haven't eaten much, I send them interesting recipes that they could easily make. Also, I give the option to talk out their feelings with me or change the topic to something humorous if they would prefer.”

Read: 11 of the best tips from June.

Scholarship Winners

“I believe that the New State of Mind campaign is important because every year students go to school and just one month into the year are beyond stressed,” says DoSomething member Abigail, 18. “This campaign will spread the word about how students can help themselves relax for the year to come instead of worrying and being stressed.”

“This campaign is important to me because I want people who are dealing or struggling with mental health to know that they are not alone,” says 17-year-old Olivia. “I wanted to offer my advice because I want to make a difference for someone who doesn’t see the world as big and full of other ways and opportunities as I do.”

“For the people who are dealing with stress or any type of mental health issue, I would like for you to know that you are not alone. We can work together as a community to overcome the hardships,” says Colleen, an 18-year-old DoSomething member. “This campaign can help students inform others on how to relax instead of being concerned for what to expect in the upcoming year. Overall, this can be the time for students to reflect on positive energy and thoughts instead of the negatives.”

(Scholarship winners are selected randomly, so everyone has an equal chance of winning. You can update your email preferences to make sure you’re subscribed to our scholarship email, where you can receive new chances to win scholarships.)

What You Can Do Next!

Take this easy survey to tell us your thoughts on the campaign.

Thanks again for your seriously impactful efforts. Keep an eye out for the full New State of Mind guide next month.

Let’s Do This,

Sahara, DoSomething.org