Texas Tech University

Mailbag: Beyond Okay

Allen Ramsey

November 4, 2022

Mailbag

Mental health, and what Texas Tech is doing to help.

Welcome back! 

This week in the Mailbag we got a question from a staff member in the Provost’s office asking for a favor.  

Hey Mailbag,
Can you help spread the word about Beyond Okay? 

Now, we here at the Mailbag understand that our reach is limited to you, our Red Raider family, so we’re asking for your help with it as well, but we were more than happy to pick up this request and run with it this week.  

Beyond Okay

A year ago, Texas Tech University’s Office of Risk Intervention & Safety Education (RISE) started the Beyond Okay initiative.  

“Beyond Okay is an initiative from the Office of the President in conjunction with RISE to bring awareness to the campus community about mental well-being and the resources we offer,” said Haley Wallace, program manager for communication, marketing and design at RISE. “Nearly 80% of Texas Tech students indicated experiencing moderate to serious psychological distress in 2022, so this is a prevalent issue on our campus today. Beyond Okay aims to lessen this number by educating students on how to be self-aware of their own mental well-being and how to support themselves and others.” 

The initiative was originally focused on student mental health, but it quickly became apparent that we all need help from time to time. Beyond Okay now focuses on every member of the campus community.  

We normally try to keep the Mailbag somewhat light-hearted, but mental health is no laughing matter.  

A university campus is a place where a lot of interesting, exciting and fun events happen, but it’s also home to an array of stressors, and with the holidays and the end of the semester nearing, the stressors tend to amplify.  

Don’t worry, you’re not alone.  

Beyond Okay is designed to offer every member of our campus community the resources they need to cope with whatever is going on, which is exactly why we want to help spread the word.  

Let’s run through a few of the services available. 

When it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, recreational activities, eating healthy and finding on campus where you are comfortable (you can find a list of programs centered around belonging at the bottom of this page) are all part of the initiative. Student Health Services also offers checkups and continued care for our students to stay on top of physical well-being.  

When problems do arise, the goal is to have help where you need it. The list of services available is long but includes therapy assistance, support for academic development where you can find tutoring and supplemental instruction, disability services and wellness coaching. There are also a couple of newer offerings in Togetherall, a free mental health service for students and MySSP, which offers free and confidential real-time support. 

And our friends at Student Life and RISE are always available to walk you through the best options.  

For faculty and staff looking for help for themselves or their students, Beyond Okay has a resources page (linked here) that we strongly encourage you to look over. It lays out more than 30 different resources available on campus which address just about any situation.  

If you are struggling, you do not need to suffer in silence. We’re all pulling for you, and we’re here to help when you need it.  


More Mailbag

Mailbag
Click to send an email to Mailbag.

 

 

Texas Tech Today