Mental Health in College Students by Angel-Mae Ferrer

 

What is Mental Health?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mental health is the overall health and well-being of an individual that involves emotional, psychological, and social circumstances. Our mentality influences how we act, think, and feel. In such instances, it helps us on how to manage stress, make healthy decisions, and handle the different relationships with others. Mental health is essential for every individual as it starts from childhood, pre-adulthood, and branches throughout adulthood (2018). 

Mental Health in College Students 

Mental Health is apparent in all individuals, but particularly for college students. College can bring enjoyment, knowledge, and beneficial interactions to an individual. However, college can also bring stress, challenges, and issues that can affect an individual's state of mind. Most of the time, it is young adults that are in college who are still trying to figure out what they want to do in life as it is a "self-discovery" era (from early to late 20s). Throughout the years, the rise in anxiety and other effects of mental health are expressed in the elevated uses of mental health services such as counselors, workshops, emotional support programs, etc. Some possible reasons that cause the anxiety and stress for college students are financial problems, juggling work and school, raising a family while still being in school, and having too many assignments/exams that it affects with sleep and health. 

According to the article from Best Colleges, the top five common mental health challenges for college students are anxiety, depression, addiction, eating disorders, and suicide (2020). For most students, they tend to believe that the difficulties that affect mental health are normal for the college life. Additionally, some may not have the time, energy, or finances to acquire treatments and services that can help with their mental health. The following descriptions will help elaborate the common mental health challenges. 

Anxiety

Anxiety is the feeling of continuous worry, tension, and panic that affects with everyday living. The more regular this feeling is, the higher chance of being diagnosed with a particular type of anxiety which includes generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder (SAD). Some of the symptoms for anxiety are having trouble focusing, shortness of breath, sweating and dizziness, and headaches. 

Depression 

Depression is considered a mood disorder that continually has an individual feeling sad, hopeless, react negatively to most things, lose interest in activities that were once amusing, and discuss a lot about death/suicide. Moreover, it can cause changes in behavior and actions such as loss of appetite, problems with sleep, mood swings, and other pains in the body. Symptoms are found under three circumstances which are physical well-being, emotional, and thinking. For physical well-being symptoms, it includes the changes in appetite and irregular sleeping habits. For emotional symptoms, it includes feeling overwhelmed and extremely sad. For thinking symptoms, it includes not having a clear mind to pay attention and/or carry out responsibilities. If any of these symptoms are found to happen regularly, then seeking a mental health professional would be best.

Addiction

Addiction is the mental and physical dependence on one or more substances. For college students, the common substances are alcohol and recreational drugs. According to the same article, statistics from 2019 showcased how alcohol is one of the leading factors of deaths on college campuses where there are more than 1,500 deaths annually. Also, 35% of college students binge drink and 25% of college students exploit stimulants to help with studying. As stated, "College students also abuse drugs like marijuana, ecstasy, benzodiazepines, cocaine, and prescription painkillers at high rate" (Best Colleges, 2020). Some of the side effects/symptoms that occur with addiction are impaired coordination, slurred speech, drastic weight loss/gain, and suspicious behaviors. 

Eating Disorders

Eating Disorders are conditions where an individual has irregularities in their eating habits in regards to an obsession of having the "perfect body image/shape". Certain actions that can occur are binge eating, food deprivation, and purging (i.e. self-induced vomiting, exercising too much, and wrongfully using certain medications). Eating disorders are more apparent in females than males and continue to rise throughout the years. Specific eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Common symptoms found within individuals who have an eating disorder are excessive exercise, regularly making excuses for eating habits, and irregular heartbeats. For most college students, it can be easy to miss some meals and be influenced by news/social media to have the ideal body type. When these disorders aren't treated, it can lead to life-threating issues such as an growth effects, heart problems, and problems in the kidneys. 

Suicide

Suicide is the action taking one's own life. When the stress and difficulties of life becomes too much for an individual to handle, they believe that death would be the easiest way out to end all the pain and struggles. Having intense depression can create such negative thoughts that consume one's mind to just only have suicidal thoughts. Feeling helpless/overwhelmed and having untreated mental illnesses can be a sign for a suicidal individual. 

Mental Health in College Students (During COVID-19)

As displayed in the diagram below from an article by TimelyMD, which is a telehealth company, approximately 85% of college students are deeply impacted by the current pandemic where there seems to be more females (93%) than males (78%) who experience stress and/or anxiety that are related to the pandemic. According to Dr. Alan Dennington, who is a Chief Medical Officer at TimelyMD, he said "Students' mental health concerns do not take a summer off. The hazy outlook for a safe return to campus only adds to the emotional toll of students' sustained feelings of fear, uncertainty and isolation relating to the coronavirus" (TimelyMD, 2020). Additionally, a good amount of college students had participated in a survey from TimelyMD and the top three academic causes of anxiety and stress comprised of about 72% having the feeling of uncertainty towards the future of their education, about 61% fearing they won't be able to keep up with coursework, and about 60% experienced many difficulties with switching from in-person to remote learning (2020).

Mental Health Services and Treatments for College Students

Prior to and during the pandemic, mental health services play a very significant role for college students. According to the article by TimelyMD, some statistics towards coping mechanisms that college students are taking during this pandemic involve 65% using streaming services, TV, and movies, 59% interacting with video calls, 58% interacting with phone calls, 50% being active and exercising, and 47% spending some time outdoors (2020). TimelyMD provides telehealth services that allows for college students to have their mental health problems dealt with and get immediate treatment from physicians and licensed counselors anytime and anywhere. 

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) resource below, there are on-campus and off-campus ways to find help and get treatment. Under the circumstances of the pandemic, most college campuses are closed so the off-campus treatments will be used more. Such ways to get treatment for off-campus are paying a visit to a health professional such as the family doctor or a therapist, confiding one's own feelings to someone they can trust such as a parent or relative, and/or finding support groups or health programs. More resources to seek mental health treatment/services can be found towards the bottom called Helpful Resources. 

My Opinion 

This social issue of mental health directly affects me through the many responsibilities that I carry out currently. Especially with the major shift to online learning, I have had to find ways to have good time management, so that things can be less stressful. I am a full-time biology student taking 8 classes, president of a club on campus, and a department coordinator for the COPE Health Scholars Program HPMC where I have shifts every week at the hospital. At times, I forget to take breaks and check in on my mental health and it really does take a toll on me in the end. During this semester, there were times where I felt really burnt out and at my lowest. Therefore, what I continue to learn is to find ways to treat my body to some "me-time" (i.e. doing yoga, watching a movie, playing with my dogs), so that it gives my body a chance to re-energize and heal in a way where I am mentally in a good place and my mind is light.

This issue is very essential to college students, especially during this time of pandemic where most of education has switched from in-person to online learning. The lack of physical human interaction leaves a huge impact. We all have to learn how to deal with this new change and try to get used to it for a while as the future with the pandemic is unpredictable. Due to safety guidelines, many educational opportunities and events have been cancelled and that can influence the career paths that many college students planned. For instance, for science majors, research labs have been cancelled to have less exposure to chemicals and other individuals. Home and school are very different environments and it is easier to get distracted and be exposed to more interferences (i.e. family) at home. All of this can build up on the stress and take a toll on an individual's mental health, so it is important to raise awareness and partake in the many treatments and services that are offered. Additionally, it is important to take breaks and work on self-care as having a low mental health can negatively impact one's own mind and everyday living. 

Helpful Resources: 

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

The Crisis Text Line by texting "COURAGE" to 741741

The Jed Foundation - works to prevent suicide in teens/young adults: 1-800-273-8255

Active Minds - promotes mental health awareness in young adults/college students 

Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), link: https://adaa.org/ 

The Trevor Project - provides a safe place/support for LGBTQ individuals: 1-866-488-7386

National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), link: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/ 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) National Hotline: 1-800-662-4357

University of California services, link: https://ucop.edu/student-mental-health-resources/index.html

California State University resources, link: https://www2.calstate.edu/attend/student-services/Pages/mental-health-services.aspx

California Community Colleges resources, link: https://www.cccstudentmentalhealth.org/

References: 

Best Colleges. (2020, May 06). The Top Mental Health Challenges Facing Students: BestColleges. Retrieved October 22, 2020, from https://www.bestcolleges.com/resources/top-5-mental-health-problems-facing-college-students/

CDC. Mental Health - Home Page. (2018, January 26). Retrieved October 20, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/index.htm

Gordon, L. (2018, November 05). Newer, Fresher Ways to Cover Student Mental Health Emerge. Retrieved October 22, 2020, from https://www.ewa.org/blog-higher-ed-beat/newer-fresher-ways-cover-student-mental-health-emerge

Gordon, L. (2020, August 31). California colleges increase online mental health services to serve expected student need. Retrieved October 23, 2020, from https://edsource.org/2020/california-colleges-increase-online-mental-health-services-to-serve-expected-student-need/639212

TimelyMD. (2020, June 24). College Students' Mental Health Continues to Suffer from COVID-19, New Survey by TimelyMD Finds. Retrieved October 20, 2020, from https://www.newswise.com/coronavirus/college-students-mental-health-continues-to-suffer-from-covid-19-new-survey-by-timelymd-finds/?article_id=733635