On-Campus Mental Breakdown Management
Caitlyn Lo
Welcome to first-timers or welcome back to our returning Muppets, to the first MUPA blog of 2025! We welcome you back after mid-sem break with a reminder of the potential mental breaks that uni stress may cause you to fall victim to?
Somehow mid sem has hastily crept up even though it feels like you’re only just starting to get used to this new routine. One look at your to-do list reminds you that the workload is piling up along with the stress, but you tell yourself to just push through it because there’s no time for a break. Right as you find a spot to sit down and start working on your lab report due next week, you get a notification that you’ve failed an MST…
Then the cherry on top is that your next class is in an hour or so, meaning there’s no way of escaping and running back home to have a meltdown in the comfort of your own bed.
So, how do you navigate a mental breakdown when on campus?
(Why should you trust me? My credentials are as follows; I’m proficient at being chronically on campus, crashing out, and overcoming the crash outs all within the vicinity of the Parkville campus.)
#1: Have a good cry
Don’t get me wrong - I am in full support of crying in public without feeling ashamed, but I do understand that it can be a very vulnerable moment in which you would prefer to weep in a more private place.
Crying in the bathrooms may seem like such a high school experience, but it can find its way into your uni experience too and there’s no shame in that. Some of my favourite bathrooms to cry in include;
If you’re looking for an outdoor spot, the little courtyard in the Elisabeth Murdoch building is a less-frequented area that makes for a good environment to sit quietly and ponder what went wrong.
#2: Reconnect with Mother Nature
“Touch some grass.”
Jokes on whoever has told me that before because I already do and I’m going to tell you the best spots to do so.
There’s just something about basking in the sun that is so grounding; giving a much-needed mood boost and regulating overthinking. Focus on the pretty flowers and fallen leaves, the breeze, and take a deep breath of fresh air instead of the stuffy library air.
#3: Treat yourself
No, you don’t not deserve a treat just because you’re not performing to the standard you wanted to. In fact, you need to reward yourself for all the hard work and time you’ve put in and remind yourself that you are more than a test score. If you want a psychological phenomena to justify having the treat then know that having this treat is basically positive reinforcement. That dopamine boost you get from the treat can go a long way to act as underlying motivation.
In hard times you should most definitely give in to the calling of a sweet treat break.
If you happen to be a freak and not enjoy sweet treats (I’m only half-kidding), have a savoury treat or even a cheeky drink.
If you’re looking for free treats, I recommend stalking the UMSU events page (which is a favourite pastime of mine when schoolwork feels too overwhelming to tackle). Whether it’s food, coffee catch ups, arts and crafts sessions; so many options and what they have in common is that they’re free! And everyone knows that everything is better when it’s free! On top of getting freebies, the events are a great opportunity to have a chat with other students and get your mind off uni work.
#4: Consume media (or sleep) the self-deprecating thoughts away
#5: Back on the road, destination: academic weaponing
Once the crisis has been averted, and you’re feeling good enough to tackle a study session, the first step to preventing mental breakdowns is finding a good study spot. My checklist to finding the perfect study spot includes a good source of sunlight, a view of the outside world, and good ventilation. Based on my personal accounts, some of my current favourites are as follows;
Finally, the best piece of advice is to attend a PALS session! This is an amazing opportunity to listen to other students give a fresh and more engaging take on psych content that you might be struggling with or just find too bland, as well as meet other peers to bond with over the difficult psych concepts. Maybe you even want to be a PALS leader and present (look out for applications next semester 👀) because being responsible for providing revision sessions really drives you to deeply engage with the content in order to be creative in how you deliver the learning material to other peers.
The bottomline is that unsatisfactory grades are unfortunately almost inevitable in the average university experience, and in times like that it’s important to give yourself extra love and grace. Have that sob session, cheer yourself up with a little treat - just do whatever and take a break before going back to studying.
Thank you for reading and remember that MUPA is always cheering you on! <3
