Too much stress
In 2019, the National Institute of Mental Health believed that about one in five U.S. adults had some sort of mental illness ("Mental Illness", 2021). A mental illness does not necessarily have to refer to the most severe types, such as schizophrenia. A mental illness may prove to be just occasionally troublesome, but we would all still rather not have it. When taking age into account, the NIMH found that people between the ages of 18 to 25 had a rate of 29%, which was the highest among the three adult age groups. One could presume that being a college student among other factors played a significant role in the comparatively high percentage. This is seemingly backed up by a study conducted in 2015 by the American College Health Association, who found that 25% of the students said that they were diagnosed with a mental illness in the past year (Younghans, 2018). Unfortunately, the matter has only worsened as a result of the pandemic. One study found that upon the outbreak and switch to online classes, students reported the equivalent of experiencing one more stressor per day, which does not seem like a lot, but adds up (Keyserlingk et. al, 2021). Over time, the average level of stress has decreased, but it is still greater than the level before the pandemic.
The studies point towards college students being rather susceptible to mental disorders. If one considers schoolwork, jobs, family responsibilities, and growth still taking place, then it is easy to imagine why young adults are particularly vulnerable. However, just because there are logical explanations behind this phenomenon does not mean we should just accept it as being normal.
What you can do for others
According to a study on the effects of social support on college students, the results found that students, who reported a higher sense of informal social support, had lower anxiety and depression scores (Lee, 2020). Informal support just means not professionals, so friends, family, coworkers, etc. The findings of the study may appear to be obvious, but I feel that many people, including me, still keep to ourselves too often. We think that we will only be a burden to others. We regularly tell others that we are okay, when we are not. Asking somebody else how they are doing has become a formality when starting a conversation with the expectation that the reply will be that they are fine. It is totally okay to keep a problem to yourself, but if the reasoning is that you think you will only be bothering the other person, then I think you should share how you feel. Some may feel that the other person does not actually care, but I think it is better to get into a habit of being honest and accepting any support rather than closing yourself off and sparingly receiving any kind of encouragement. On the other side of the coin, listeners should try their best to make the other person feel better through gestures, such as making eye contact, nodding your head, asking for clarification, etc. All of this has been applicable to general social situations, but I think it is still really important to keep in mind during college. We all have unique lives and backgrounds, but we are all still just young people doing our best, working and learning, with the hopes of living meaningfully for the rest of our lives. We need all the help we can get and we can give that to each other. We should seek each other out when we need help with an assignment or want to just talk. We can all help each other reach our fullest potential.
What you can do for yourself
Interpersonal communication is important, but so is intrapersonal communication. Having a good relationship with others is vital, but at the end of the day, what really matters is what you think about yourself. No one else can always be there for you, so you need to be able to accept yourself to truly be happy. Exercising and meditation are great ways to reduce stress, but one particular method that I would recommend, is truly taking the time to write in a journal. Journaling can help with symptoms of depression, symptoms of PTSD, and just feeling a greater sense of worth (Ackerman, 2021). I have taken two classes, which were Psychology of Personality and Positive Psychology, that really emphasized the benefits of writing in a journal. In the first class, journaling was a semester long assignment, where we were required to write out our thoughts and actions everyday. Initially, I was not a fan of the idea because it just seemed like more work and I thought worse of it because I considered it as homework that I had to do every single day. Eventually though, it felt like a natural part of my life. It was now just a part of my daily routine along with the likes of brushing my teeth and showering. I thought this would last, but when the class ended, my interest in writing waned. Some of my classmates had felt the same way. I had to get back into it by my own volition. In the other class, the teacher asked how many people wrote in a journal and only a few said that they did. The teacher recommended starting a journal, but did not make it an actual assignment. When he asked the same question a few weeks later, not much changed. What I learned from these two experiences is that ultimately, the onus is on you to improve your mental health and life in general. People can try to suggest a way or even somehow require you to do something expecting that your mental health will consequently improve based on all of the evidence, but it will not be genuine improvement if your heart is not truly in it. It is never too late to start though. The best time to start something was when you learned about it, but the second best time is now.
Personal
I went into college without declaring a major. After some time, I decided I wanted to go into the field of psychology. I had felt so overwhelmed and stressed that I thought majoring in psychology was the best path for me. In a way, you could say I wanted to take matters into my own hands. I just figured that I thought it would be amazing if I could help with the mental health of myself, those close to me, and others in the future. For this project, I wanted to focus on college in regards to mental health as that is the process I am currently going through along with my peers. I wanted to do research and share any personal thoughts I had as it relates to the college experience. For the past four years of my life, college has been the reason for a majority of my stress. Nobody in my closest circle of friends have the same major and most of us do not go to the same school, but we still frequently talk about any stress or anxiety we have because of an assignment, scholarship, internship, etc. I also have a neighbor that I used to really not talk to before, but he started coming to me for advice about the college process during his senior year of high school and occasionally still asks for tips like what classes to take. The mental health of college students has been exceptionally threatened during these times and I think that we should all try our best together to combat this crisis.
Works Cited
Ackerman, C. E. (2021). 83 benefits of journaling for depression, anxiety, and stress. Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://positivepsychology.com/benefits-of-journaling/
Dolan, J. (2020). Time to think: The importance of introspection in leadership. Retrieved from https://www.keystepmedia.com/time-think-introspection-leadership/
Keyserlingk, L., Yamaguchi, P. K., Arum, R., & Eccles, J. S. (2021). Stress of university students before and after campus closure in response to covid‐19. Journal of Community Psychology. https://doi-org.mimas.calstatela.edu/10.1002/jcop.22561
Lee, K. (2020). Social support and self-esteem on the association between stressful life events and mental health outcomes among college students. Soc Work Health Care. doi: 10.1080/00981389.2020.1772443.
Mental illness. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness.shtml
Sakuma, H. (2019). Top 5 stress management tips for college students. Retrieved from https://info.umkc.edu/unews/top-5-stress-management-tips-for-college-students/
The psychology of perceived social support. (2019). Retrieved from https://online.notredamecollege.edu/perceived-social-support/
Younghans, J. (2018). College stress. Retrieved from https://hms.harvard.edu/news/college-stress
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