Podcast Season 5, Episode 1 Transcript
Babette Faehmel:
Welcome to Many Voices One Call, Civic Engagement Podcast. My name is Babette Faehmel. I'm a history professor here and the faculty co-host. And we will in a few minutes meet our two new student co-hosts. We are here today to talk about mental health, and especially about the mental health of our students and of young people and young adults in general. And we thought this was a topic that we really need to talk about right now because, according to nationwide studies, the state of mental health in the United States right now is not so great. So we asked four current and one former student to join us here today. And also Maria Farina, who is a psychology instructor here. Hi Maria.
Maria Farina:
Hi.
Babette Faehmel:
And Sean Mullins, who is a counselor in the Office of Wellness and Support Services. Hi, Sean.
Sean Mullen:
Hello.
Babette Faehmel:
Okay, and now let's hear from the student co-hosts first. Sion Ashley, would you mind introducing yourself?
Sion Hardy:
Sure. My name is Sion Hardy, and I am one of the new student co-hosts for Mini Voices One Call podcast. And I am also a teacher education student here at SUNY Schenectady.
Babette Faehmel:
Thank you. And Ashley?
Ashley Lumbala:
My name is Ashley Dumbala. Well, I have a long first name. It's Ashleylucie. I just go by Ashley. And I am one of the co-hosts of Mini Voices One Call. I am also a computer science major here at SUNY Schenectady.
Babette Faehmel:
Alright. And then we have Brit Brittany and Khalim.
Brittany Bowie:
Hi, my name is Britani Bowie. My major is criminal justice. This is my first semester at SUNY Schenectady. I'm a proud member of the Student Government Government Association and a proud member of the student what was the SPD, which is a student programming board. And yeah, I'm excited to be here.
Babette Faehmel:
Well, we are excited about you being here.
Khalim Hannah:
Hello everyone. My name is Khalim Hannah. Yeah. This is actually my first time in college at all. I'm here for the digital music production course. I'm actually honored to be featured on the first episode of the fifth season of this podcast. I did some prior listening before um before joining the podcast. And yes, I'm very honored to be um to be here as a guest.
Babette Faehmel:
Well, we are honored um that you are here and you are clearly a pro because you remember to mention that this is season five, episode one. Thank you for that. All right. Um in a few minutes we might uh hopefully we'll be joined also by a um former student here at SCCC, um, and he will introduce himself once he arrives. Hopefully the Uber will get him here on time. Or well, not on time, but soon. Um, and um, but while we're waiting, let's talk about the current state of mental health. Um, what do we actually know and how do we know that? And I mean, I know there are lots of national studies that we could point to, but I would actually like to hear from the students themselves. So, what do you yourself experience uh and what do you uh see amongst your peers and among other young people and young adults?
Sion Hardy:
So I know that mental health can be a really difficult journey, especially for young people who are freshly entering adulthood or young adults who are navigating adulthood, because you're exploring the unknown and you're met with new responsibilities, and there's also fear of the future, and um no one really knows what's in the future or can predict the future, so that can be the source of many anxieties, feelings of inadequacy, and things like that.
Babette Faehmel:
Brittany, do you want to add to that?
Brittany Bowie:
Yeah, I definitely feel like there's a lot of pressure and expectations, uh, not just coming from uh the media, but it can also be pressure from peers and family members uh that cause us to almost develop some type of mental strain. We tend to overthink, and sometimes we forget to give ourselves a pat on the back for our hard work. Sometimes we feel like we're not doing enough, or maybe we're just not putting in our effort. But in reality, just waking up every day and getting ready to go to school is uh a stepping stone, whether you see it or not.
Babette Faehmel:
Absolutely. Ashley and Khalim?
Ashley Lumbala:
Something else that I know about like um mental health is that it doesn't only start now with as college students, but it goes all the way from when we were in high school and when it was overlooked. I don't know if it's still overlooked now, but I remember that um when I was in high school, it was something that was overlooked, something that was not looked into. And um not looking into mental health can have long-term effects. So that is something other people now struggle with and they start realizing that this didn't start today, it started then. So I believe it's some it's very crucial in a person's in a person's life, be it in academics or in whatever they do, it's something that should be looked at from a very young age.
Babette Faehmel:
And Khalim?
Khalim Hannah:
I think that it can be, at least in my experience, it can be scary at times. Um sometimes it can be hard to decipher like what's in one's own head and what's actually reality. And then I think that just the stigma itself just adds this scary spookiness to it. And that can definitely make it like hard to have a civil discourse about it. Um as far as um as far as like how it how it affects, um I necessarily can't speak for every student, I can more so speak for as like the younger generation. I think that I think that we we kind of have it extremely hard because like we we're we're growing up during a day and age where like the information is here, right? The information to understand mental health is here. So not only do we h ave this strain because we actually understand it, right? We we can't just dismiss it like how they did back in the days. You know? So now we're not only are we forced to understand it, we're forced to fathom it, but we're also uh forced to adapt in this ever-changing world, this ever-changing, ever-dooming world. I hate to say dooming, but ever-dooming world.
Babette Faehmel:
So I think that's um that's really interesting what what you said, um, all of you. I mean, I was thinking, of course, college is stressful. It has always been stressful, and um people always have to adjust with that transition from, I don't know, whatever you did before to now you're doing this. But there also seems to be something that is really um, I don't know, like particular about our current context, um, which which brings me to like um a question like the sources for for for stress, anxiety, and and yeah, like mental or actually actual mental health issues that you experience.
Babette Faehmel:
Um Sion, you mentioned the the that you are that you don't know what the future brings. I mean, that's an that's a constant, right? But is there is there something more particular about this time? And also Khalim mentioned information and how it's flooding, how it's coming at us and how so much is doom and gloom. Um and Ashley, you you mentioned that it used to be not something to talk about. Um and and Brittany, I mean, you mentioned, I think you were hinting at um like the pressure you put yourself under, right? Do you do you want to talk more and go more in detail about the sources of your anxiety and your stress? And anybody can start.
Brittany Bowie:
Yeah, I'll go first. So I am a full-time worker, so I work full-time for a company. Um right after I finish with my classes, I go directly to work, and that's just my whole day. I'm working at school and I'm working for a company, so it's like taking a lot of time and energy, but that's something that I'm willing to do because I want to do it. So there's that pressure of having to balance work life and school life. It feels like oftentimes I don't even um make time for myself or for others, and that can be mentally straining for me. I feel sometimes burnt out and sometimes I feel like I have to be strong and not show that it's affecting me. Um I get sad not being able to do certain things outside of school or work, but then I realize that I can find happiness in something that I do. I mean, it's an accomplishment to be able to work and go to school. So it's it's just kind of like in between should I be happy, should I be sad? You know, I don't want to affect the people around me, and I should, like.. It can be um it can be like um straining for sure. Yeah, it's like having to juggle things, and it's like I'm not good at juggling.
Babette Faehmel:
So how many hours a week do you think you are working?
Brittany Bowie:
So I work at my job about 40 hours, 35 to 40 hours a week, and then I'm at school from like 9 30 to 2 p.m. So it's my entire day gone right there.
Babette Faehmel:
How many hours do you sleep?
Brittany Bowie:
It depends. Um oftentimes I find myself sleeping five hours or six hours on a lucky night, maybe eight, but that's I don't remember what that looks like anymore. Like I just I don't know what that looks like.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah. And then you I mean you just you just um start the day and go go go through it and just don't question much, or how do you how do you keep yourself going?
Brittany Bowie:
I definitely question my state of mind.
Babette Faehmel:
Uh-huh.
Brittany Bowie:
Like, am I okay?
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah.
Brittany Bowie:
I generally ask myself every ... am I okay? Am I going to actually do this again and again and again and again? What what will my breaking point look like? Will I cry? Will I break something? Will I just shut down completely and not, you know, go nonverbal? Like I just sometimes I almost try to avoid that. And then I get stressed out, just thinking about what I shouldn't do. Like, how do I cope? Is is is my my coping mechanism healthy? Is it not healthy? Is what I'm doing healthy? Probably not. I mean, I should be getting more sleep, but I I often find myself questioning my decisions, but at the end of the day, I feel like I need to think positively. Yeah. But I find it hard sometimes.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah. When when I was when I was in in grad school, I found the recommendation that I should sleep more, or take care of yourself, extremely stressful and extremely annoying, because, I like, how, when, why so some some advice is certainly well meant but not exactly helpful.
Babette Faehmel:
Sion, what um, how about you?
Sion Hardy:
Um, I would say that a big source of my struggles with mental health are actually actually stem from um adverse childhood experiences, and it makes it difficult because when you struggle a lot as a child, um it can stunt your growth and development. And then as an adult, you're kind of like burnt out and it's hard to juggle responsibilities while um recovering from those um childhood experiences. So it can be difficult, but I feel that with the right support and treatment that it is possible to probably not completely overcome it, but um cope with things and move forward in a way that makes you that allows you to function in the world.
Babette Faehmel:
I think we are gonna talk about the coping mechanisms and the adverse childhood experiences in a in a bad let's welcome our um missing guest, um former SUNY Schenectady student, guest of honor, John Murray. Welcome. Just on time. We did the mic check for you, but would you mind introducing yourself real quick?
John Murray:
Uh thank you for having me, Babette. Uh my name is John Murray. I am the CEO and owner of J. Murray Athletics. I am a former student of Schenectady County Community College, and I remember I always used to butcher that name other than that.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah, welcome to the club, we all do. All right. Um, yeah, and John is a former student here. When did you I um when till when were you here?
John Murray:
Oh god, um, forever ago. I think 2015. Um I did uh about a year or two. Yeah. Honestly, I don't remember. I didn't do a lot of participation in class or in school in general. Um my mind was elsewhere.
Babette Faehmel:
Okay. Um would you say that was a possible sign of ... I don't know, stress?
John Murray:
Oh no, that was absolutely a sign of ADHD, ADD. Um just kind of having that internal feeling that the uh greater education system wasn't for me.
Babette Faehmel:
Alright, alright, alright. Um, so what is your personal, like, do you have like personal relationship to the topic of mental health and stress and anxiety?
John Murray:
Um Well, I think uh mental health kind of is important to all of us on some level. Um we all struggle in different regards, whether maybe it's depression, anxiety, um and I think um helping and making people making people feel inspired or maybe giving them a story that they can lean on is important.
Babette Faehmel:
Uh-huh.
John Murray:
So maybe I have something to offer, hopefully.
Babette Faehmel:
I bet you do. We had Sion and Brittany talk about the sources of their stress and anxiety. Um, and um, Khalim, do you mind talking about your experiences and what stresses you out? You already mentioned um stigma.
Khalim Hannah:
So I'm gonna start off with experiences. My earliest um involuntary admital to a psychiatric type facility was Berea's Children's Home back in 2010. I've been in and out of wards, uh both my childhood and adult life. Um, you know, usually oh I'm feeling suicidal or you know, I want to hurt somebody, stuff like that. Ship you in, give you meds, narcotics actually. Um but yeah, they give you meds, I go off my meds, so I've been in and out of the system. Um from like I was 2010, I would have been nine. So I'm 24, my last admission was last like this. December, November. I'm never going back. Um that's as far as experience um bipolar, unspecified, ADD, social anxiety, all that. I think it's just mainly bipolar, unspecified. As far as stressors, I'm gonna chop it down to material stressors and esoteric stressors. Material stressors will be, of course, you know, money, um, career, apartment, um, hyper-awareness of where I'm at in life. Because like, and um not only hyper-awareness of where I'm at in life, but also cross-referencing and comparing myself to other people and other people's experiences that sometimes it drives me loco. It's like I get so hard on myself to where all empathy for myself just goes away. Um, family, I have six nieces, um, one nephew, and my little brother passed like in 2021. So I I just know like that pressure's on me. You know, like what is Kaleem gonna do? Like, is he gonna step up? Is he gonna, you know, you know, like I just know, like, people in my family looking at me, you know, what am I gonna do? Um my body too, like, taking a lot of damage over these years. And sometimes I wonder, like, is my body gonna give out? Like, for example, I got hit by a car like last Friday.
Babette Faehmel:
Oh my god.
Khalim Hannah:
Yeah. Yeah. Oh wow. Seriously, are you okay? Oh yeah, I'm good. Okay. And me being the prior person I am, um I went to a Spartan session two days later, you know. So sometimes I wonder, like, am I gonna get CTE? Like, am I gonna be one of these brain dead dudes, like one of these I I I hate to use that term, but like one of these guys who you know stutter and slurring their words, like am I or am I gonna be like you know, one of the guys who are lucky, you know, that they could take a million shots and still go to college and still graduate? That stresses me out. And um I say faith. Faith stresses me because sometimes I wonder like if if if if if I die tomorrow, like am I uh am I going to the other side of Duat? Like, am I going to the underworld or am I going to nirvana? Am I going to heaven or if I'm going to hell? I don't I don't know. Just so just a few.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah. Oh that that's a lot. Actually.
Ashley Lumbala:
That is a lot. Um when it comes to me, uh like my sources of stress and maybe sometimes anxiety is the fact that I am an international student and my family, my family has always moved around. Like, well not moved around, but I'm originally Congolese and we lived in how many different two different countries, then we went back home, and now I'm here. So for me, it's like um you being the let me say the exotic person in a country full of people that are not exotic always means that you have to be bright, you have to outshine, you have to be at the top no matter what, because that's how we felt we were going to, you know, put our mark. That's how we felt that we were going to succeed, and that has been my life since since forever, and it still is. So for me, it's like I have to be, I have to stand out, and sometimes it's so stressful and it's so tiring, yeah, because it's not even my parents anymore. I'm in college and I am still an overachiever. I am an overachiever, and if I don't, like if I if I'm not able to um reach my goals or be the person that I want to be, and it's in every aspect of my life, that stresses me out because sometimes life gets in the way, and you have a lot of things to do, a lot of things to look at, and you're like, How am I going to be able to do all this at the same time? Because I am definitely not 20 people. No, you see, and you think and I think about okay, my life after this, what's gonna happen? Is this actually going to pay off? So that's me and just trying to juggle it all, being in a place where it's just let me say, it means just me and my brother, and your family's all the way in a whole other continent. It's stressful, it's not easy. Yeah, so that's me trying to juggle five, uh two different continents, four different countries. Like I know that people you can even hear it in my accent. Other people always wonder, where do you come from? Because you can hear a bit of Southern Africa, but then it's like, hmm, no. That's because I've been in so many places, yeah. And what we've done, and what I've always thought is that I definitely have to stand out, but it's not easy, especially when you grow, come to be an adult. It's not an easy thing.
Babette Faehmel:
It's also a lot of pressure to see.
Ashley Lumbala:
It's a whole lot of pressure in itself.
Babette Faehmel:
I mean, like, um, I'm an I'm a first generation student, and I just like my my parents never understood why I was interested in what I was doing and what I was planning on doing with this. It's what could not possibly ever lead to a job. And I just shut all of that out. Like, I just didn't want to deal with it, I didn't want to deal with them. I just wanted to like go my own way, and that is extremely isolating. So, Maria and Sean. Um, how, um like as Maria as a psychologist and Sean as a counselor, um, what, like, is this representative of other students around you? Do you see do you see this as kind of like common challenges that students struggle with?
Sean Mullen:
Yeah, yeah, I'll jump in. I think that I don't know, we were kind of talking about pressures a lot, you know, the last couple things, and I think there's a lot of external pressures and internal pressures, and I think school in general brings a lot of those up, and it's something that I think we see all the time, and even how they can kind of become intermixed with each other, right? You know, how an external pressure can become internalized and then turn into an internal pressure. You know, I need to be this perfect person that these people think that I am. So I don't know, I just kind of wanted to echo that that aspect of it because I do think no matter where you're coming from and how you end up in school here, because I think especially here, people come from a lot of different stages of life in a lot of different places. There's always gonna be those pressures that come from some direction. And I think it's about kind of, you know, I don't know, finding what pressures feel healthy and what pressures help us kind of move forward and kind of sifting out some of the ones that maybe are pushing us in a direction that isn't, you know, where where we want to be. So I think there's always gonna be those pressures from multiple directions coming in.
Babette Faehmel:
Do you think there has been an increase in social anxiety and mental health stress among the students in the last years?
Sean Mullen:
It's hard to say an increase or not. I think there's always gonna be, you know, pressures and things like that going on. But I do think just with um, I don't know, I I know that we're gonna talk about some of these things later on, but I think just with the rise of like, I'll just say like social media and the social aspect of things, there's a lot of like kind of unspoken pressure, I think, because everything we see on our phone in front of us is a perfect life, right? We see all these people only showing the good sides of things, so everybody kind of even if you know, like, hey, I know that's not their whole life, you kind of subconsciously want to live up to that. And when you have a bad day, you feel like, oh, well, I'm not as perfect as these people because everything on there is perfect. So I think that's a big aspect of it too. And I think also just one piece that I think we all can relate to. Obviously, we're a bit removed from the COVID pandemic, but I do think that there's still, you know, there's going to be residual effects for a long time.
Babette Faehmel:
Uh-huh.
Sean Mullen:
And it feels like we're kind of getting back to, I don't know, I say in quotes, "normal life," but it's kind of a new normal. So I think we're still kind of settling into a post-pandemic life, and that brings a lot of, you know, maybe that could be, you know, part of an increase of um, I don't know, stressors that are coming up still.
Babette Faehmel:
Uh-huh. Uh-huh. And um when students see you in your in your office, do they talk? I mean, do they themselves talk about like these external stressors, or is that just something that, as you said, is like unspoken? You know it's probably somewhere, but they're not articulating it.
Sean Mullen:
Yeah, I think people, yeah, people definitely bring things from almost all different directions. So I would say that, you know, it's hard to generalize, but yeah, there's definitely things that uh that do kind of come up from those external and internal pressures, and sometimes both too.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah. I I we actually just had a in in class a couple of hours ago a discussion about like social media and the impact on like the sense of self and whatnot. And I'm always surprised how actually super aware students are of what is what's happening and how how things are affecting them, and just like and how how kind of like I don't know, I felt that they were eager to talk about it, and that's I mean, that's hopefully, hopefully, some sort of outlet. Maria, you have um multiple hats, right? You're a mom and a professor. Yeah. Um, and and how about how what do you see? How do you experience the whole like mental health situation?
Maria Farina:
I think what uh what all of you were saying about a lot of the external pressures, and I think that's um not unique to community college students, but it they certainly bring with them, you know, multiple parts of their life um that that affect them in the classroom. You know, so I have lots of of students who are parents and have kids in all the activities and are they're juggling that and they're getting to class on time and they're working many times full-time. Um they have family members that they take care of and other things. It's just a lot. They have a lot of other things. Um and many of not I shouldn't necessarily say many, but some of them also are coming from, like you were saying, experiences in school that weren't necessarily positive.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah.
Maria Farina:
Um, which I always admire in my in my students, that you know, you're willing to give um college a a try when you've had, you know, maybe not such great experiences with school in the past. Yeah. Um so I think I think our students have a lot of resilience, and I I think that's one of the things that we can draw from, you know, to help with mental health and and accessing some of the resources that are available at college. Um I'm always trying to encourage students to do that.
Babette Faehmel:
To what extent do you think the college environment is actually giving you a space where you can, I mean, obviously you are here to study and you are here to achieve things, but does it also give you, I don't know, like some spaces where you can relax and where you find support and how how well are we doing as a as an institution and making it a little bit easier for you guys?
Khalim Hannah:
I'll say so far, like so so good, so decent. Like for example, um I've been going up to the meditation room uh for like the past few days just to like take naps, just to give myself some time to rest. Because for the past few days I've been getting like anywhere from like five to two hours of sleep. So like if if I'm feeling overwhelmed, or if I if if I know like yo, I I need some rest or else I'm gonna snap, I'll just you know, go up to the meditation room. Um I think that the um I think that uh I I think like the way like the library in that area is organized, I think that I think it gives a very like relaxing um vibe to it. Um so I th...
Babette Faehmel:
That's good to know.
Khalim Hannah:
Yeah.
John Murray:
I didn't know you guys had a meditation room.
Babette Faehmel:
Oh yeah...
All together:
That's hard to find.
All together:
Fifth floor, yeah.
John Murray:
So what what other additions have you guys made to like SCCC to kind of help students cope?
Babette Faehmel:
Sean, can you speak to that?
Sean Mullen:
Yeah, so I I guess in terms of additions, you know, like you said, you you mentioned that you didn't even know we had the meditation room. I think that's one of those things. I think some of these things have been here for a bit. It's just been like kind of knowing about it has been tough. And that's why, you know, me coming in here, I've been here for a few years now, and I feel like half my job is letting the school know that I exist, you know, and like coming on here and and you know, coming to classes, cla... classrooms and stuff like that too. So um I really do think half the battle is kind of knowing the resources and us get being able to get them out, which I think we have taken some good steps in in um doing that, you know, things like that as well, too. But um, but yeah, I I think also we have um, you know, the food pantry. I think that's been around for a bit too, but that's a huge one that I think most, you know, Robin does a really good job of um, you know, Robin and Karen do a really good job of making sure that that is a a resource that most people know about, right? You know, when I'm tabling, I talk about our resources and a lot of people come and say, hey, I know that, I know about that one. I use that often, you know, so I think that's a really great one. But, you know, just kind of the those are kind of like the two the two main ones. But I think we do have, so we have the meditation room and there are a few kind of um, you know, lounges around as well too um for similar kind of purposes.
Babette Faehmel:
But I mean we are we are trying. I mean resources are always scarce. But also I think like for community colleges, we have the the problem or like what distinguishes us from the four years is that we oftentimes have like really students who are part-time students and full-time workers. And um oftentimes they just have to they don't have the time necessarily to seek out support because that's another investment of time, and they also still have to get to work and they have to do their classwork and then they have care labor responsibilities. And it's just that our students have all of them have a lot of things on the on their plate. Um so Maria, I think when we were talking earlier about some of the articles that um you mentioned, there are sometimes also just barriers to to students seeking seeking help.
Maria Farina:
Yeah. Um well Khalim already mentioned stigma, um, which you know in my classroom, it's it's a little hard for me to say say because as a psychologist, that's all we talk about. Um so but I really do think that there's an increased awareness about mental health and the importance of it. Uh again, Khalim was even saying it's it's almost like now that you know that there's something that can be done, now you have this obligation or this feeling that you're you're obligated to to do something. Um I I think lack of resources and also not knowing necessarily what resources the students need. Um and I think that's again where the counseling center is really beneficial because that's a place where you can go to to help sort that out. Um so I think that's another um yeah benefit.
Babette Faehmel:
I um in the in the one of the articles that you shared, um I saw this student quote that was from like from a different institution, but it was also a community college, and the person said, like seeking help is very, very taboo where I'm where I'm coming from. My mom, for example, she doesn't believe in it, mental health, she doesn't believe in mental health. She doesn't think a therapist is a thing that would help you, it's just for crazy people. Um, and I think that's also oftentimes an issue for like cultural differences and also class differences. I mean, um in my family, definitely you go to a therapist when you are like crazy. That's that's it. Um, and I mean there are I'm certain I'm certain there are other like cultural barriers. Um and we also were talking in the well but in the meetings, in the many meetings that we had before this episode about the role of gender. Um how how how does that affect how people approach mental health issues? This um John Um we talked before um about like like a kind of like differences in how or possible differences in how men and women approach mental health issues.
John Murray:
Uh yeah, um I don't I I don't know how aggressively you want me to uh attack this issue...
Babette Faehmel:
Oh go for it!
John Murray:
I mean personally, growing up, I you know I didn't grow up in the best household, um mainly from uh the male figure, uh not my father, but my stepfather. Um so I grew up a lot in therapy, so like I'm kind of uh I don't like therapy, I'm gonna be honest. Um I don't find it helpful to me. I have a lot of inner perspective and I I'm constantly constantly running through the things enough in my head that I kind of see, you know, the problems alone without rehashing them with someone externally that like I'm already looking for solutions. Um if it helps you, I think it's definitely something you should seek. Um everyone should at least try therapy once. Um I think there's some valuable solutions in there. Um men typically, from what I see, kind of demonize it um or either uh don't want to open up or don't feel the need to open up for whatever reason. Um it can be valuable. Um just sharing with someone. Um, you know, I'm part of a fraternity and uh maybe that's not therapy per se, but I have brothers I can reach out to that I can talk to anytime. And I think if you're not looking for therapy, at least finding a support structure, whether it's a good close friend or something to that akin, to kind of help elevate you through life. Because I think at the end of the day, um a therapist is almost a substitute for that support structure, and we all kind of need that on a base level.
Babette Faehmel:
Mm-hmm. That's interesting. And you do work with a lot of I mean in your in your work as on also in um as J. Murray Athletics and as your you have your own YouTube channel interviewing.
John Murray:
We've had a couple different podcasts with different guests um from main mainly from combat sports right now. Um obviously some in basketball, running, um, some of the coaches and the refs have been on. Um but one thing you see in combat sports typically is a lot of the men have some kind of um backstory, something they've been through, uh-huh, and they find that that um physical release helpful for them in their life.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah.
John Murray:
Um there's also again though, there's that brotherhood in MMA that when you're part of a team, you're part of a family, and you have that surrounding. I think Hakeem mentioned he went to sparring. I I I don't know if you train at Ring of Hope or Electric City or one of the local teams, but I'm sure you know that feeling I'm talking about.
Khalim Hannah:
Um I'm just gonna correct you. Uh my name's Khalim.
John Murray:
Khalim, I'm so sorry about that.
Khalim Hannah:
Just to build off what he was saying, like last Sunday, um I sparred with a dude. He trains at Byron Berries, and he told me like at the end, like, yo, like you you got better, and I said, What way? He told me in what way. And just him telling me that, like, that felt better than just yeah, yeah, a lot, you know. Some I mean that felt more authentic and better than some compliments from my family, to be honest.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah, yeah. You build your own like support circle and what they how they affirm you is just as for me too more important than what your family support.
Maria Farina:
I was gonna say, yeah, the the fraternity that you talked about, that that social support, exercise is fantastic for mental health. We we love that as much as I dislike exercise myself. I follow my own prescription most of the time. Um Martial arts in particular really seems to be very beneficial. Um so you know, don't discount those things that you do. Those extra it doesn't necessarily have to be sitting sitting down with a therapist and talking about your feelings. Like not, it's not for everybody. Um but recognizing that those other things are beneficial and and when you get those moments of you know positive feedback or s or something like that that that like that Colleen was talking about, um that that's just that's just all good stuff.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah. I mean it's not a one size fits all, right?
Maria Farina:
Yeah, yeah
Babette Faehmel:
I recently came across that, that for some people, talking about the things that hurt them in the past or some things that like just I don't know, like cause stress for them because it's more stress. So talking about it causes more stress and anxiety, so you do something else and you maybe seek like I don't know, like release and movement.
Maria Farina:
Yea h.
Babette Faehmel:
Why why do you think martial arts is particularly helpful?
Khalim Hannah:
I think um I think it really comes down to like just genetics.
Babette Faehmel:
Aha?
Khalim Hannah:
Like I I think that some people like are somewhat hardwired for it. Because like there's some people they'll never step in a gym. Like they'll never do it. They'll never and then there's people who step in the gym, but they can't handle being hit. You know, so I I think like somewhere down, you know, which which whichever like whoever person it is, somebody in their bloodline was was they they had that, like they had that trait, they had that DNA in that whatever whatever environmental thing triggered it, it triggered it. I I at least that's what I think. I also think I also think it's helpful because you know, maybe it could be the dopamine effect that you get, you know, but yeah, yeah, I I think it's genetic to be honest.
John Murray:
Real quick before we uh go too far off, I wanted to add to something he had said.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah. Please!
John Murray:
Um there is a scientific backing to exercise and uh martial arts around um mental health and general health as a whole. Um, it's not often talked about enough is exercise, physical health goes so side in side with mental health. Um inactivity, um, especially over long durations, can long term cause um, I don't specifically, I don't want to cite anything, but um it can cause certain mental health conditions, if not depression and other things. Um so a form of moderate exercise is recommended at least two to three times a a week, um, as little as much as a walk, you know, just going for a walk around your block can be the the biggest difference in your life. Yeah. And um uh onto the the martial arts point though, on a primal level, um if you I'm sorry, I'm I'm gonna get super scientific with this. Um we back in back when we were animals, right? When we would chase our prey, we would bludgeon it. We don't have teeth, we don't have fangs, we don't have claws. There is a primal enjoyment from beating something and grappling. That's why kids like roughhousing.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah.
John Murray:
And we we reject this part of us, but on a base level. But Babette, you did boxing, you love it. I don't have to explain this to you. You know. Um, if you if if you haven't tried a martial art yet, go try boxing, go try jujitsu, go try judo. I guarantee you you will love one of them.
Babette Faehmel:
No, that's totally cool. No, you're absolutely right. And I also like that you emphasize like moderation, you don't have to like go all out and become like all extreme, but like moving and getting out of your head and and stepping outside, just going for a walk, is is fantastic. Back to the college environment and the structure of our classes. Is there room for this?
Khalim Hannah:
I mean, um, I will say like the the college does give us free access to the Y[MCA]. So in a way it does help us. If anything, I think that especially in 2025, social media like social media emphasizes for us to be fit. Like there's there's definitely been a resurgence of gym culture. Because I remember like, let's say like like the early 2010s, mid-2010s, like the whole 2016 it was dead. Yeah, you know, like the whole, you know, uh, can you lift, bro? You know, the monk, you know, the meatheads. Like something happened. I don't know whether it was TikTok, but like now it's cool to be in the gym and be fit again. So if anything, I think I think social media advocates for us to be fit.
Babette Faehmel:
Okay, and in a in a positive way. Okay, good, good, good. Um anybody else, do you do you agree?
Maria Farina:
I just wonder if some of that, just given the timing, if COVID had anything to do with it, because we all had plenty of time. I did lots of Yoga during COVID.
John Murray:
I definitely think uh COVID had a big part to play in getting people on the social media fitness thing, like posting about it. But I I mean building up to like 2020, there was a big transition, especially on on social media. I think there's something to do with the aesthetic of the human body.
Babette Faehmel:
Uh-huh.
John Murray:
And I think there's something visually pleasing, you know, and I think that just attracted a large group of people who wanted to be that or be something like that. And with that just came that slew of fitness enthusiasts. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that either. I think there's a big um if if you're gonna improve yourself, go for that, but don't do it for the full vision either.
Babette Faehmel:
Right, right.
John Murray:
Social media can kind of draw you in for the likes, the clicks, and the comments, and if that's your purpose in doing it, that's definitely the wrong way.
Babette Faehmel:
Well then just it just adds more stress to your life instead of like being a release world. Alright, so um social, no, social media is a stressor. Exercise and movement is a coping mechanism, and it can be a big source of support. Um, what other coping mechanism, what other self-care tips would you share?
Sion Hardy:
Can I share one?
Babette Faehmel:
Of course.
Sion Hardy:
Um so I was thinking about what um excuse me. I was thinking about what you guys were saying about social supports and things like that. And it made me think about how sometimes when we're in our own heads, we can catastrophize the future and our situation and things like that. And it's really good to have an outside person or an outside point of view to kind of just pull you out of your own negativity and see a different perspective on what your situation can be because sometimes it can be really hard to give yourself grace. Like it's important to treat yourself as if like how you would treat your friend. Like you wouldn't be rude to your friend, you wouldn't like doubt your friend. If your friend is going through a hard time, you would be there for them. So, like when you're going through a hard time mentally, you have to be there for yourself and be nice to yourself and kind to yourself and give yourself grace. But it really does help to have an outside perspective on your situation because a lot of the time someone outside yourself can see things a lot differently than how you yourself are seeing things, especially if it's in a negative perspective.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah. Who um and you do you mentioned um earlier and and uh before we talk before this, before we started recording, that you ...that that spirituality was really important for you.
Sion Hardy:
Yes, um, I have a spiritual teacher. Um he's on YouTube, his name is Bhagavan Josiah, and he really helps me a lot on the idea of like detachment, um, detaching from the world and um your mind. Um it's interesting because he doesn't believe in free will, he believes that we do things based on our circumstances and things like that, and we try to do our best based on like the outside influences, our environment and what's going on and things like that. And so um it's just really interesting, like following him and like um acting on the idea of detachment, and I think it really helps me because sometimes I tend to overthink about the future and my actions and am I doing enough and things like that. And he kind of just talks about how all that stuff is nonsense, you should just be as you are and be who you are, and just try to be an authentic expression of who you are on this planet.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah, it sounds like that serenity prayer. Um. Brittany!
Brittany Bowie:
Yeah. I wanted to follow up with um it's important to surround yourself with um like-minded people or at least people that want to uplift you. Um, because I feel like when you're feeling mentally down, it's so easy to welcome um unhealthy coping mechanisms and an unhealthy crowd. I found myself doing that when I was feeling very down because we connect with the pain and we did it in the most unhealthy way possible. Drugs, drinking, um, you know, just risky behavior that just that's not the type of person I want to be. And I found myself dealing with depression and anxiety in the most unhealthy way possible, and it almost made me go into self-destructive mode. Um, I call it chaotic energy. A lot of people tend to carry that chaotic energy around them, and that can really latch on to you.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah.
Brittany Bowie:
It can become an endless cycle where you're like, I am so lost. Is this is this my life now? Is this what I'm I'll just be for the rest of my life? I'm like, no, that's that's not so you have the ability to cut that off. That's why I am part of the Student Government Association and all these other committees. Because that these people want to succeed in life. I need to surround myself with people that also want to succeed. Yeah, you know, you you invite that energy into your life, and you can become that energy, that positive energy that you've been seeking.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah, you know, and at the same time, it's a difficult um decision to make to cut yourself off from people you used to be surrounded by. Ashley!
Ashley Lumbala:
Yeah. There's a like I want to add on to like every everything that you guys said. Um Khalim and John talked about um how they do martial arts, Sion talked about her spirituality, Brittany talked about how she went into drugs trying to deal with her depression and anxiety. And I also wanted to say that like these are all different things.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah!
Ashley Lumbala:
And we are different people.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah.
Ashley Lumbala:
So obviously, not every single one of us are going to have the same coping mechanisms, so it's not because um Khalim does martial arts and I'm gonna do martial arts there, it's gonna help me. So and it always helps a person to find out who they are and what it is that they want to do and what can help them because I know that definitely helps me. I just earlier I talked about how I'm such an overachiever, and that's a lot of noise in my brain because I'm constantly thinking about the next thing and never like being in peace or like actually being happy with what I am achieving. So for me, my coping mechanism, I I work out too because it's a lot of it helps me a lot. I don't even know how to explain it, but working out just quiets my mind. And I've also like um well I grew up I grew up Christian and I've also like decided to go more and learn more about my faith, learn more about the word, and that's another thing that helps me so much, you know, connecting with God in the morning and not connecting with my phone, you know, waking up in the morning, deciding to pray, deciding to read um the word, and not waking up in the morning looking at Instagram and I'm like, oh my gosh, yeah, there's a new, you know, oh my gosh, new body standards, oh new that, new that. No, you know, connecting with um my creator is something that has helped me decide and look at myself and say, hey, this is me, I'm okay. You know, the word the word tells me that I I am what? I'm fearfully wonderfully made. So why is it that I have to go and look at all these things and decide to be all these things when I'm a totally different person and social media is full of all these different people.
Babette Faehmel:
Right?
Ashley Lumbala:
So we don't always have to be this one thing, this one person. So I just love how each and every one of you have different ways of dealing with stuff, and that just comes to show that social media can be a toxic place, but it also could help. But it's always better for you to know you who do you want to be. Britney wants to be successful, that's why she joins SGA. I love that, and you know, it relates to a lot of people, other people have other goals, so it's always good to know yourself. And I think that's what helps you find what you want to cope, how you're going to cope, yeah, and what are you gonna do to realize these goals.
Babette Faehmel:
Right! And also to have the courage and the strength to just say like that all of that is not for me, this is my thing, and then just do it and just like hold on to that. I think that's awesome. Um, yeah, I was also really impressed by all the different kinds of coping mechanisms, um, and and also like I don't know, the the way you kind of like take take charge and take care of what you need. Um but Sean and and Maria, what ... are there, like, signs? What what are like signs where about ... faculty who interact with students on a regular basis and also students themselves might might like signs that indicate that maybe they need to seek out support from somebody, like for instance from the council wellness center on counseling.
Sean Mullen:
So I I always say that like so as professors and anybody who interacts with students here, even other students, right? You know, you're kind of that first line of defense for helping people here, you know, in a sense of you're the people that interact with them every single day. You know, I I'm here to help when it comes, you know, when when people do need support and when people do need somebody to talk to, but I'm not in the classrooms every day. You know, it's uh it's hard to kind of notice some of these things kind of come up. So I think, you know, obviously it's a little bit easier to know when you have a a relationship with a student. Like sometimes maybe you'll you'll know a student and if they if things seem different, right? You know, I think that's a pretty vague way to put it, but um if there's any kind of you know major differences in the way that somebody that you know closely, is acting, you know, maybe sit down and talk to them for a second. Just ask them, hey, how's everything going? And um I don't know, I think just kind of any sort of like withdrawn behavior, things like that too. But I really think the most important part of this too is that I think a lot of times people will see some of those signs and kind of panic and think, oh my G od, they need help, and then kind of like don't know what to do. Just have a conversation with them. I think and and sometimes they might not really want to have that conversation, and that's okay, you don't have to push anything, but you know, just all you have to do is like if you notice something, just ask, hey, are you okay? You know, there are some resources here. If it kind of gets further, you don't have to push anything, like I said, but just kind of you know, checking in on the people that are around you.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah. It's a tricky balance though, because you don't want to be overly intrusive and like may maybe it's also just a per personality issue. Like maybe this is an introvert, a very introverted shy person, and I don't want to kind of it's yeah, it's it's it's hard. Um it's almost like we should build that into grad school, like education. Like if you want to if you want to teach, you need to have like some basic basic background in mental health.
Maria Farina:
Yeah, I I mean again, we we talk about it in class, so many times I will get students come up after class if it's topical. Um but like Sean was saying, you know, change dramatic changes in behavior and and I've had students too come to me concerned about a friend, which is also again, I think something that's happened is we've lowered the stigma and increased awareness. Um it is, you know, it's great to check in on your friends and how are they doing and classmates and things like that. Um but you know, the sort of classic signs are difficulty with sleeping and eating and how you're feeling, and if things are dramatically different. Um checking in with somebody, talking with somebody is is you know a great place to start. And there's so many resources at the college and in in the counseling center that you know, and maybe maybe you need something outside of what the college can provide, but generally we can refer people to outside sources too and and have connections in the community. Um so that's another benefit.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah, absolutely. Um so um as one of our last points we had on all this um that uh like are there any kind of um options and opportunities for us to maybe create like new supportive spaces um in our life with our friends or like here at the college?
John Murray:
The college maybe uh consider some more activity clubs. I find that hobbies are a good way to uh help with depression. Um having something that you're good at can also alleviate some of the anxiety in life, knowing that you're good in one area can give you the confidence to approach another area. So facilitating whether the some of the extracurriculars that students might be engaging in, like maybe re-establishing the basketball team, you know, utilizing maybe some of the other facilities in the area that are available, yeah. Um, and kind of giving students an avenue for expression that may not be in the traditional norms of uh academia.
Babette Faehmel:
Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Well, Brittany, maybe that's something SGA can talk about?
Brittany Bowie:
Yeah. We're always open to hearing students and staff out um regarding any new events or how to just assist.
Babette Faehmel:
But I think we have a lot of activity clubs, right?
Brittany Bowie:
We do have quite a few activity clubs, yes. Um I am part of the criminal justice club, which I'm going right after this.
Babette Faehmel:
Oh my god.
Brittany Bowie:
Um and they do a good job at asking us, what do you want to see? And I'm like, well, I want to go to jail. Let's go take a field trip to jail. That's an activity. We can all go to jail together, see what you know, what's all what's all about. So, you know, I like clubs that actually take that under consideration. Like, hey, what's something fun that we can all do, you know, outside of school, not just a school activity. So I feel like that's that's great. They're actually hearing everyone out. We all voted who wants to go to jail.
Babette Faehmel:
I wouldn't I wouldn't exactly consider that a fun activity, um, but it's definitely purposeful.
Brittany Bowie:
Right, exactly.
Babette Faehmel:
I mean, you you you're thinking earnestly about your future and you want to explore what it means to work in the criminal justice system.
Brittany Bowie:
And we're all doing that as a group, which is important. You know, we're we're all doing something as a group, we're all because we all want to go into the criminal justice field. So we're all like, how how can we get an insight to a specific place? And it's by doing a little field trip.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah. No, I I actually don't want to make fun of that because I I I think this is a great um initiative that you do something that has that that connects you or that gives you more of a vision or more insights into what is outside like after college, right? Why am I doing this? This is not exactly always fun. There's a lot of work in the world. Um, so what I'm why am I doing that? And I think this is actually a great idea and a great like...
Brittany Bowie:
I like what I really like about the club though, other than just hearing each other out and just um putting advice out there is how um welcoming they are. Yeah. They they can really just invite anyone in and we can do activities. I mean, there's other clubs like anime club, I know there's the um gaming club.
Babette Faehmel:
The the e-game ?
Brittany Bowie:
Yeah, e-games, yeah, those are pretty cool, and I feel like you can connect with a bunch of people on there. I love playing video games. I've thought about it, but my schedule is so packed. Um, what else?
Babette Faehmel:
Gardening? Do we still have the gardening club?
Brittany Bowie:
I don't know. That's something I have to do.
Babette Faehmel:
Well, there are there are many, and they're definitely worth checking out.
Brittany Bowie:
But I will say with the uh student programming board, we are planning events. Okay. So everyone can be involved, all of campus, and that's what we really do. We just plan and how can we include everyone? What's something that can take our minds off of the school stress or work stress? We're like, okay, let's plan these events, these cool events that where we can just have fun.
Babette Faehmel:
Maybe we need a martial arts club.
Brittany Bowie:
Yeah, that that would be fun. Um, you guys talking about it actually encourages me to want to do it because I played volleyball for eight years. Um, I want to take take advice from you guys and just actually do martial arts. I've always wanted to just show up.
John Murray:
I'm pretty sure most gyms in the area are first class is free. Okay.
Khalim Hannah:
Yep, first class, first week.
Babette Faehmel:
Wow.
Brittany Bowie:
I feel like there there might be some anxiety within some women to join a like uh what's it called a prominently dominant, or was it male dominant? Male dominated male dominant um sport. Yeah.
John Murray:
Wait, most of the men are just gentle though. Like when you see a woman coming in the class most
Khalim Hannah:
Upstate center for martial arts, Sifu George, shout out to Sifu George. He specifically has a woman self-defense course, even he even has a group on um Facebook about it, which is going pretty strong.
Brittany Bowie:
So that's cool. Yeah, one thing that I did want to touch up on, like that I would like to see more to bring awareness in how to cope is like positive affirmation. Yeah, like there were times I'd go in the bathroom in high school and I would see it like a note just on the mirror. So you look beautiful today. Oh, that's you look great. Or you know, maybe seeing a sign on like the elevator just saying, Hey, smile, you got up today and you're here. Like just positive affirmations. It might not work for everyone. But it it might you know for me it does. I try to tell myself, like, hey, why did you start today? Oh, yeah. Because you have this goal. Oh, you want to help people, you gotta help yourself first. Right. You know, and this is why you're here.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah.
Brittany Bowie:
Because you're helping yourself first in order for you to accomplish that goal of helping others.
Babette Faehmel:
Uh-huh.
Brittany Bowie:
And you just gotta start somewhere. You know, for the longest time I was like, oh, college is not for me, I'm already stressed with work. Then I ended up doing it. I'm like, I do not regret it one bit because I am actually putting in the effort and that's almost mentally rewarding. But then there's always that sinking feeling of, am I doing enough? Am I actually going to succeed? So it's kind of like I have to balance those thoughts.
Babette Faehmel:
Yeah, and you also have to like stop like thinking too much about the future that you can't control and the past that you that can no longer control and just do what you're right now doing. I struggle with that a lot too. Like I think all of us, like I don't know, like in academia, you tend to have people who are obsessing over all sorts of things that are in the future or were in the past. Um, but yeah, it's uh the the mindfulness practice. Okay.
John Murray:
If I can real quickly, I want to second that the affirmations can be absolutely invaluable. I'm sure the uh two uh clinical psychiatrists to my left and right uh will affirm um what you surround yourself is what you become. If you surround yourself with negativity, um I think uh you mentioned the drugs and the alcohol previous. That's all you surround yourself with, that's what you're going to become. If you surround yourself with positivity, people who work hard, people who have ambition and who have vision, you will become more ambitious and have more vision in your life and you will obtain more things. You just gotta keep finding people who support you, keep those people close, support them back, and good things will come.
Babette Faehmel:
That sounds like the perfect almost last word. Um, Sean, if if somebody um is inspired to like explore the wellness um like um in what we have in terms of resources, how can people find you?
Sean Mullen:
Uh they can send me an email um or they can come to my office. My office is um I'm in Elston Hall, uh second floor. [Room] 222 Elston. We're using the 223 entrance right now because of construction.
Babette Faehmel:
Oh yeah.
Sean Mullen:
But um I always like to say I like to be as flexible as I possibly can. Obviously, my schedule doesn't always dictate that. But if you want to stop by and my door's open, I'm always happy to talk. Even if you don't want to make an appointment, you don't want to schedule an appointment and talk to me, you're just curious, hey, what is counseling? What other resources do we have? Do we have other stuff outside of here if we don't want to meet with you? Just come talk to me and I'll be able to, you know, kind of talk you through any of that stuff and point you to a direction, whether that's some resource we have here on campus, or if it's something outside of campus, or if you want to come meet with me. You know, I I like to think of myself as not just a counselor here, but also kind of like a you know central point that can help point you in the right direction if you're not sure where you want to go or what's going on.
Babette Faehmel:
Right, right. Maria, do you want to add to that in terms of like what we what students should think say and do or if they are encountering any kind of difficulties?
Maria Farina:
Um I I think if they're encountering difficulties or seeing friends that are encountering difficulties, yeah, the counseling center is a a great place to to head. Um check with your instructors, talk to an instructor if you're having trouble with class, that's another thing. Keep your instructors informed about what's going on in your life. We do care what's going on in your life. Absolutely. Um I try to be as flexible as possible with students and work with all sorts of circumstances. Um we want you to succeed.
Babette Faehmel:
Absolutely, we do. And we are not we're not just looking at you as students and uh homework doers or non not doers, but as actual like full people, and we we do like um we we do want to support you. Alright, okay, I think that's a wrap. Um so ...
Babette Faehmel:
Many Voices, One Call is made possible thanks to the generous contributions of the SUNY Schenectady Foundation. The recording of the podcast is supported by the School of Music, our student editors Francis Brown, Michael Sevier, and Bae Greenwood, and Professor Sten Isachsen. Heather Meaney, Karen Tanski, and Jessica McHugh Green deserve credit for promoting the podcast. Thanks also goes to Vice President of Academic Affairs Mark Meachem, College President Steady Moono, the Student Government Association, and the Student Activities Advisor. Stay tuned for more episodes where you get your podcasts!