Mental health is a serious topic that is often not taken seriously. Due to my own struggles with depression, I have experienced the impact mental illness can have on a student’s life. Mental illness can make everyday life feel unbearable and can have just as serious of an effect on a person as a physical illness. The causes of increasing mental health problems in college students are numerous, and it will take work from both students and universities to overcome this problem, but change is necessary for the health of U.S. college students. There is no simple answer to what causes mental health problems in college students, as factors differ for every person. There are, however, some factors that are more possible than others such as preexisting conditions. According to “Mental Health By The …show more content…
Awareness. Many people are unaware of the symptoms of mental illness and therefore are not able to spot them in themselves or others. Unfortunately, there is a problem when it comes to educating people on mental health. People don’t want to talk about mental health problems. They are afraid of mental illness and therefore avoid the topic. There is also a stigma in society that those with mental illness are in control of their disabilities so they are told to “change their thinking” rather than to seek medical help. This stigma and ignorance of mental illness symptoms often means that people struggling with mental health problems do not get help until they are at a point of crisis. Students and colleges need to work to break the stigma and spread awareness so that those struggling with mental health problems can get help as soon as they feel their mental health declining and it does not have to get to a point where they feel they cannot handle life. Most colleges have student health services which offer counseling and other help for struggling students but, those students either do not know these services exist or they are too embarrassed to take advantage of
The top 4 mental health issues facing college students are depression, anxiety, suicide, and eating disorders. Depression is a huge problem with college students mainly because depression is linked to and leads to suicide. If one and three college students are depressed that's 33% of students who are on a pathway to suicide. Anxiety is one of the main problems because
Mental illness is not shameful, but stigma is. The stigma of mental illness is driven by fear and lack of knowledge. The solution to ending this stigma is education to dispel fear and lead to a society which acts with compassion.
Mental disorders are as common among college students as same-aged non-students, and these disorders seem to be growing in amount and severity. It is not unusual for undergraduate students to experience varying levels of anxiety, depression, and stress during their matriculation; some college students experience academic stressors as well as non-academic stressors. Non-academic stressors could include seemingly obvious issues like moving away from family for the first time or some issues that may be harder to recognize like private health concerns. Dr. Richard Kadison, chief of mental health services at Harvard University and author of “College of the Overwhelmed” reported that almost 50% of college students are likely to suffer some degree of
Mental health among college students has been proven to be a relevant social issue that our society faces. There are certainly a few different institutions that play a large role within the development of this social issue. The first institution, and the primary institution at play with this issue, is the higher education system. In terms of mental health and having access to resources, college students haven’t always been as lucky as they are today. One study in 2007 explains the story of Junior at Syracuse University (Kravets, 3081). Anita Rutman had a history of mental health issues; she even found herself being admitted to a mental health hospital. One morning in February, she threw herself off of the eighth floor of Boland Hall and landed on a patio and fortunately lived. However, her attempt stemmed from the university sending her letter three days prior that informed Anita that the school was planning to dismiss her because of her suicidal tendencies (Kravets, 3081). Anita later sued Syracuse for ten million dollars for malpractice and negligence in handling her condition.
Many people surrounding the concept of college and collegiate students are recognizing what many surveys are proving. The reason people are starting to notice is because recent studies and surveys are presenting that there is evidence of a rise in mental problems. To name a couple of them, depression, suicide and even eating disorders among the collegiate students. The reason this issue has evolved into a controversy is because not only are these survey showing that the umber of students developing mental health issues is increasing but the people being affected by this issue is growing. Some stakeholders have a bad and some have good viewpoint on this issue. The stakeholders fighting and voicing their viewpoint in this controversy vary from
There is a major stigma around mental health in our society, this often leads people with mental illness to believe that it is their problem and that if they tell someone else they will get ridiculed rather than supported. However mental health is a societal problem and should be treated as such. Mental illness is the leading cause of death among teenagers in Canada, but people tend to ignore it rather than face the issue. Because facing the issue would mean acknowledging the
As the research suggests, there are an obvious number of students on college campuses that are exhibiting the detrimental behavioral, social, and academic effects of mental health issues. I wanted to observe whether the number of suffering college students is increasing or not to identify the severity of the problem on college campuses and determine the best approach to deal with these numbers. In a 2012 study directed by Mark Salzer, he states that college students suffering from mental health are “enrolling at increasing rates” also making note of the fact that “Eighty-six percent of students with mental illness withdraw from college prior to completing their degree” (1). This discovery further shows that mental illness is affecting more
The branches of mental illness go beyond the average humans knowledge. There are so many different illnesses that cover different areas of hard times and topics, for example: the branch of eating disorders e.g. Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa, Panic disorders, Schizophrenia, Anxiety disorders, and there are so many more. Mental illness should be known in every category and branch and no one should be afraid to speak up and out about the problems of those suffering. There are organizations that help raise money and awareness on certain days of the year, the Bell Lets Talk campaign, and some schools have dedicated days to raise awareness and make donations. A spark of hope is always what someone needs in their day and our goal, as a society is to help people grow, and become more of who they are. We cannot let these illnesses take away those people without showing those affected how important they really
College represents a form of higher learning. For many, it is also a time for personal growth as we transition into adulthood. This in itself is a stressful situation as one must make drastic adjustments to a new role, environment, and demands. Stress is a major contributor to the development of mental and emotional issues (Rodgers, L., Tennison, L. 2009). Research has been done to determine the impact of depression and anxiety on university students. It has been
In order to bring about awareness of mental illness more programs need to be implemented to help aid in the process. Introducing more programs will allow for the opportunity to reach more people and educate those in the process . Mental illness is a disease that is often a silent killer. Many suffers elect not to seek services because there are little to no services that is geared soely to the disease. It is necessary to offer these programs especially in areas that are considered to be low economic. These programs will provide a service of support , relief of financial burden, and eventually begin to free up some space in the hospitals and clinics of people going when things are at the breaking point.
Thesis: Mental Illness in colleges needs to be addressed because of the rise in college students being diagnosed in mental health problems.
Mental health can be one of the hardest subjects to talk about because of the stigmatization that surrounds it. Those suffering from a mental health disorder tend to struggle to reach out for the help they need, because they are too afraid of how others might perceive them. Those suffering with mental illnesses shouldn’t be afraid to reach out for help, but because of the stigma on mental illnesses, people do not reach out for proper care that they need. As a society, the stigma against mental health must be stopped.
Anxiety and Depression disorders are two of the most common mental disorders in the United States (Falsafi, 2016). It appears that the two disorders are widespread amongst college students and most cannot manage the high demands and stress (Falsafi, 2016). Therefore, they feel more prone to depression and anxiety (Falsafi, 2016). According to the authors Miller & Chung, mental health amongst college students in the United States is a growing public health concern and educators are concerned about the low academic performance of college students and how it influences their mental health (Miller, & Chung, 2009). Research indicates that university students suffer with low grades and poor academic performances, while trying to manage depression and anxiety (Falsafi, 2016). With the consistence of higher drop out rates, it is imperative that colleges and universities create programs that assist students with managing their depression and anxiety to help them through their education.
Depression and anxiety among college students is something that experts have focused on for the past twenty years. The information they have been gathering ranges from the different stressors of college life to the effects of one's culture on how they deal with depression or anxiety symptoms. They have identified a few core characteristics of depression and thoughts of suicide. These are both serious concepts in which people need to seek help for. It is important for students to reach out to friends, family, or professionals to support them during this time. Many campuses offer counseling centers which are seeing many more people over the past few years.
Campus mental health statistics paint an alarming picture of the incidence of suicide rates on college campuses and by some measures they are getting worse. Almost one in three students have admitted to considering suicide. Mental health needs on campus are real and serious, they are also growing, which is