Changing The Narrative

Students struggling with overwhelming emotions and self-harm are not alone, and counselors say support and healthier coping strategies are available. 

story by Ace Larkin and Grace Thompson, design by Taylor Downard 

Fall quarter brings the transition to college. Winter can intensify feelings of isolation and seasonal depression. By spring, students are often balancing burnout, financial stress and uncertainty about the future. While the pressures may shift throughout the academic year, one thing stays the same: college can be stressful. 

Stress can sometimes lead students toward harmful coping mechanisms, including self-harm. According to Sara Stubbs, a mental health therapist at CWU Counseling Center, self-harm can take many forms and is not always visible. While some behaviors may include cutting or burning, other forms are less recognizable. “For some people that could be depriving myself of food,” Stubbs says. “It could be depriving myself of a community that feels essential for my well-being.” She also emphasizes that not everyone who self-harms is suicidal. 

Michele Gurtler, director of CWU’s Community Counseling Clinic, which offers free mental health services to Kittitas County youth,  says younger people often turn to self-harm while trying to cope with emotions they do not yet know how to regulate. “They’re trying to make themselves feel better, and self-harming, non-suicidal, self-injurious behaviors is a way that kids have found to try and navigate some of those things that make them stressed out.”

Gurtler says self-harm can feel “readily available” to students experiencing distress. Unlike calling a friend who may not answer or turning to a parent who may not be available, self-harm can be an immediate coping mechanism.

Gurtler encourages students to reach out to trusted adults, counselors or support systems when they are struggling. “If anybody has questions about how self-harming works, how to help with it, how to have skills on board so that they can do something else instead, ask somebody, ask a trusted adult, ask the school counselor, ask somebody that will help you. Let’s figure out something different.” 

CWU’s Counseling Center, located in Black Hall Suite 225-230, stays busy year-round, Stubbs says. The center offers individual counseling, group services, behavioral therapy, coping skills workshops and self-care resources for students. 

Common Stressors

Counselors emphasize that the stressors that contribute to self-harm are often tied to academics, relationships, identity and major like transitions. Gurtler says young people today face constant pressure from school, peers and social media. Students may be balancing assignments and tests while also navigating friendship conflicts, bullying and family stress. 

“Bullying, kids saying mean things, being different,” Gurtler says are all stressors students try to manage daily. She adds that social media can intensify those feelings because of the amount of content and influence students are exposed to online. 

For college students, stress is often heightened by the transition into a new environment. Stubbs notes that many students arrive on campus while adjusting to living away from home, managing their own responsibilities and building new support systems. “Whether home is a really safe, welcoming environment, or maybe home was really not a safe space for them,” students can struggle with suddenly having to navigate their own well-being and safety, she says.

Stubbs adds that roommate conflicts, financial concerns and academic pressure are some of the most common stressors college students experience. She also notes that some students face additional challenges related to identity and belonging. Students of color or LGBTQ+ students may feel isolated in unfamiliar environments where they do not immediately see community or support.

Coping Mechanisms 

Counselors say learning healthier coping mechanisms is one of the most important ways students can manage overwhelming emotions without turning to self-harm. Gurtler says emotional regulation and distress tolerance skills can help students interrupt harmful thought patterns before acting on them. Intentionally removing items used for self-harm can also be helpful.

One strategy counselors use is encouraging “pleasant activities,” or simple actions that redirect attention and improve emotional well-being. “It might be riding a bike, it might be doing their makeup, it might be taking a shower, it might be baking or cooking something for somebody else,” Gurtler says. 

She also encourages students to act opposite to negative emotions by choosing activities that shift their mood toward a healthier direction. For example, students experiencing sadness or anger may benefit from spending time outside, talking with a friend or engaging in mindfulness exercise instead of isolating themselves. 

“Relaxing and breathing, mindfulness — all of those kinds of skills can be helpful,” Gutler says, adding that many young people who struggle with self-harm experience those urges late at night when they are alone with stressful thoughts. Because of this, counselors often encourage students to create lists of alternative coping strategies they can turn to during difficult moments. 

“One of the best things we can do is just start talking about it,” Gurtler says. “There are alternatives. We can help you with this.”

Resources available:

Student Counseling Services: 509-963-1638
Student Health Services: 509-963-1881 to schedule an appointment

Crisis Line: 509-925-4168

Crisis Text Line: Text HEAL to 741741

Suicide Prevention Hotline: 988

Call 911 for immediate assistance