Best places to cry at UBC when it all gets to be too much

Editor’s Note: UBC offers numerous supports to students in crisis or those who require professional assistance. You can find a list of on-campus mental health supports here. 

As UBC students stream back to campus this fall, some will be hunting for the best study nooks. Others will just be looking for the best place to let their feelings out and have a cry.

And that’s okay.

UBC can be a lot. Sometimes it’s the midterm that blindsides you, the breakup you didn’t see coming, or just the slow build-up of stress that finally cracks open during your second coffee of the day.

Whatever the reason, we asked around, dug through Reddit, and collected the real-life go-to crying spots at UBC, ranked by privacy, peace, and the likelihood of someone walking in mid-sob.

You’re not alone in this. But when you need to feel like you are, here’s where to go:

1. ICICS/CS Building (ICCS)

Engineering students know: ICICS is a maze. You could cry in a hallway, a stairwell, a basement study nook, and no one would ever find you. You might even get lost and emerge as an entirely different person.

Pro tip: The deeper you go, the less likely it is that someone will witness your breakdown. Just bring snacks. You may be in there a while.

2. The woods behind Totem Park

Need nature, privacy, and the kind of existential silence that only trees can provide? The wooded area near Totem is ideal for those big, philosophical sobs. You know, the “What am I even doing with my life?” kind.

Bonus: squirrels won’t judge you. They’ve seen worse.

3. The West Parkade 

This one’s for when your sadness is cinematic. You know the mood: standing alone, tear-streaked, looking out over the city like it’s a metaphor for your entire life. It’s concrete. It’s dramatic. It’s quiet.

Just…maybe bring headphones. Some people are also up there doing less sad things.

4. UBC Nitobe Memorial Garden

Gentle. Pretty. Private-ish. These gardens are for the tears that come out soft and slow, the kind where you’re processing something big, not trying to survive something sharp.

“It was my go-to place to cry,” said Viplav Subramanian, who graduated from UBC earlier this year.

You’ll feel surrounded by beauty, and hey, someone might even think you’re just deeply into your mindfulness practice.

5. The 99 B-Line

You haven’t really done undergrad here until you’ve cried on the 99. No one talks to you. No one stares. Maybe one person looks at you with shared sadness, like, “Same.” And then they go back to their Notes app breakdown.

We’ve all been that person. Sometimes more than once in a week.

6. The UBC Nest at noon

The trick here is blending in.

The Nest at lunch is loud and chaotic, so your quiet sniffles will go unnoticed. Sit with your back to a wall, pop in some AirPods, and cry discreetly between bites of your overpriced sandwich. Let the background buzz of undergrads drown out your brain.

7. In your best friend’s arms

The friend who just knows. Who doesn’t make it weird. Who lets you cry into their hoodie and says, “Same, honestly.” If you have this person, hold onto them.

You’re not the only one figuring it out.

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