This week, I am beyond excited to launch a new blog series, “Breaking the Stigma: College Life, Disability, and Mental Health.” This 10-part series will shed light on prominent topics regarding young adults, specifically college students, and how they navigate college life while dealing with mental health challenges and disabilities.

Why is this relevant?

Post-COVID-19, in the United States, there has been a 50% increase in mental health struggles of college students since 2013 (reference). One study shares that in the school year of 2020-2021, 60% of college students met the criteria for a mental illness diagnosis (reference). These results suggest that college is a vulnerable time for an individual’s development, where they are exposed to many new experiences that can be challenging. Therefore, it is crucial for campuses to implement mental health initiatives that support their college students. 

This blog series aims to create awareness of the reality behind the closed doors in college life, whether it is mental health struggles, disability care accessibility, or dealing with social pressures. 

A little about me!

Hi everyone! My name is Gabe Golomb, and I am currently an intern at Behavioral Health Tech. I am thrilled to write this blog series and share my personal story! 

I am a rising junior at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, majoring in Psychology with a minor in Business Administration. 

I have a huge passion for mental health initiatives and disability access, both professionally and personally. Professionally, I plan to someday work in the mental health field, whether as a therapist or in the business aspect of companies that focus on mental health care. I have taken steps towards this goal by joining Agapé, a service organization at Loyola Marymount University, where I serve as the VP of On-Campus Awareness. Through my experience in Agapé, I have heard many unique experiences that should be recognized and shared beyond Agapé and LMU. 

In my personal life, I live with sensorineural bilateral hearing loss, meaning I am completely deaf, but with the aid of cochlear implants, I am able to hear. Throughout my life, including college, I faced a lot of challenges that I will share in the upcoming blog posts, and how that has played a role in my mental health. I also experienced mental health challenges due to the isolation of COVID-19, which I will expand on in later weeks in the blog series. 

When I am not working or studying, some things I like to do for fun are playing video games, specifically Valorant and Minecraft, playing Dungeons and Dragons with friends, late-night drives with friends, watching movies (I love horror and psychological thrillers), going to the beach, and hanging out with my pets, Rex and Cricket (pics above!). 

I would love to stay connected and chat, so feel free to reach out via LinkedIn.

‍What to Expect

In the following weeks, I will publish a weekly blog post diving into different topics related to mental health and disability care in the college experience. Some topics are going to include…

1. Resources at College for Disabilities and Mental Health
2. Readjusting after COVID-19
3. Greek Life and Mental Health for College Students

Be on the lookout for next week's post, where we will dive into the Intersection Between Disabilities and Mental Health within college.

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