Stress and Mental Health - The Impact on Students in CSULA

 "...when the experience of stress becomes chronic, our biological responses to stress can impair our physical and mental health." -American Psychological Association

    As summer ends and a new semester begins, thousands of college students return to campus to begin what they hope will be a good semester. A semester that many will find has a great start; not much homework, getting to know the class, and overall a steady ride. It is around midterms when many experiences the stress of keeping up with multiple classes, meeting deadlines, and maintaining a balance between work, life, and school. One missed homework assignment can lower a student’s grade to the point of it being nearly impossible to gain back the letter grade that’s been lost. The accumulation of stress can result in a student’s mental health taking a toll that will continue to be felt for the following semesters. The stress associated with the college experience can result in many dropping out, falling behind, and questioning if it is worth it. Cal State Los Angeles has shown a lack of attention to the stressful environment that has caused its students to feel an adverse effect on their mental health, thus impacting their class performance.

So What Is The Problem?

    The Chicago Tribune reports that universities across the country are facing a crisis that is being primarily undermined. The crisis refers to the stigma and growing statistics of students’ mental health deteriorating (Lamb, 2022). Universities can neglect the impact one’s mental health can have on their overall academic performance and private life. Universities can argue that they prioritize their students’ well-being; however, the college experience they have cultured says otherwise.

The American Addictions Center surveyed 980 college students and found that:

• 87.9% reported a stressful school life

• The causes of stress in a college student’s life are as follows:

  

  -Image from the AAC website
  
  

•  Across all majors, all college students reported experiencing stress on a scale of 1-7. Stressful began with five and ended with extremely stressful on number 7; The scale across all majors ranged from 5.0 being the lowest and 5.7 being the highest.

    The survey conducted by the American Addictions Center shows that college students are stressed due to experiences associated with college. So is Cal State La providing resources to help?

    Too many students attending CSULA, the experience of falling behind in class due to one missed assignment, a significant drop in their class grade from one absent, and the amounting stress accumulated through each semester is an experience all too familiar. For a campus that preaches about mental health and well-being week, it is odd that the services for students’ mental health are understaffed. When visiting the ‘Counseling and Psychological Services’ page on the Cal State La website, one will find that there is currently six working psychologist to help students. As of Fall 2022, there are currently 21,912 students attending; six therapists are not enough for the number of students making appointments. As a comparison, Cal State Fullerton has 21 Psychologists working in their CAPS department. Statistics from stress.org show that roughly 61% of college students seek out services for mental health, so when comparing this to Cal State La, many students run the risk of not being able to see one of the six psychologists promptly.

-Image from Today.com, from an article discussing mental health during the pandemic: https://www.today.com/health/stress-america-study-how-americans-can-support-mental-health-t211341 

Why should we worry about stress?

    Ever procrastinated on an assignment and found the stress of the impending deadline helped push you to complete an assignment? Many people push to work late on their assignments for this reason. Stress can be used as a motivator to make a student get a job quickly; however, stress does not come from just completing an assignment on time. To a college student, stress comes from thinking about multiple deadlines from numerous classes. Stress comes from a sudden breakup or being placed in an uncomfortable position that makes a student feel unsafe on campus. Stress comes from a sudden change in their life and the loss of a loved one. Stress that never levels out and remains can accumulate and be brought along to the next semester. Stress is not just stressing; it is what chronic stress can potentially cause in a student's health that can become a significant cause for concern.

A significant percentage of college students reported feeling stress and having other impediments (ACHA, 2022).

-Image from American College Health Association: National College Health Assessment

    The Statistics in the image above are from the Spring 2022 report from The American College Health Association. The chart on the left accounts for all students in the sample who were negatively impacted in academic performance, and the right is for only students that experienced the issue (ACHA, 2022). The highest percentage in both charts is stress, totaling 41.3% and 54.4% (ACHA, 2022). Those percentages are the total numbers, not the ratio for a specific group.

    As mentioned before, stress from one semester can bleed into the next, and when this happens, it can become chronic. Stress can usually be linked to a short-term stressor, but it can happen more than once in the span of more extended periods, resulting in fatigue, headache, upset stomach, and muscle tension (APA, 2007).

    Human bodies are not equipped to handle long-term stress, and the American Psychological Association provides more specific examples of how stress impacts different body parts:

• Musculoskeletal system: Stress can cause muscles to tense up and cause muscle pain, creating other tension-related conditions such as migraine headaches (APA, 2018).

• Respiratory System: Stress can cause disruptions in persons breathing patterns, such as hyperventilation which can cause people to have a panic attack or asthma attack if they are prone to it (APA, 2018).

• Cardiovascular system: Chronic stress can increase the risk of "Hypertension, heart attack, or stroke," and small short-term doses of stress mainly release stress hormones such as adrenaline (APA,2018).

• Gastrointestinal system: Stress can impact this system differently, such as spasms in the esophagus, stomach discomfort, and disruption of the bowels (APA,2018).

• Nervous system: The nervous system modulates stress reactions, so long-term stress on the body can drain the body, making it difficult to regulate one's response to new stressors; The body will remain under pressure despite no external stressors (APA,2018).

    

    The American Psychological Association reports statistics showing that only 28% of Americans manage their stress, but a majority of 77% of people are experiencing physical symptoms, and 73% experience psychological symptoms. Unfortunately, persistent stress can lead many students to take up unhealthy coping mechanisms. The APA reports that 43% of Americans overeat, 36% skip meals, 38% drink, 19% smoke, and 43% watch more TV.

    These statistics of unhealthy coping mechanisms and effects on the body are alarming when we consider that 75% of students do not seek help (Reese Druckenmiller, 2022). Schools such as CalSateLa need to remember that just because it may not seem like a problem, there is; it is just a silent one.

What can be done to help?

    Cal State La and other applicable schools need more funding for their mental health services. Improvement starts with hiring more therapists and making it known that these services are available to students. Another thing universities can do is reduce the stigma of stress, anxiety, and depression since students may undermine their concerns due to how such matters are brushed off by those who do not understand (Reese Druckenmiller, 2022).

    As for students currently experiencing stress, you are not alone, and there are multiple ways to cope; you just got to find the right one for you. Healthy coping mechanisms include good nutrition, a sleep routine, exercise, meditation, and seeking help when self-help isn't working (APA, 2007). It's okay to feel stressed and even more okay to reach out for help when overwhelmed with stress.

How is this relevant to me?

    Mental health has carried a stigma since I was a kid, from elementary to now. The number of times the amount of homework given would cause me to break down. The stress wasn’t so much about my inability to do it; it came from knowing that I wouldn't be forgiven if I failed to turn in all the work. It wouldn’t matter if my body couldn’t handle the stress, getting sick, or a family emergency. I miss one day, and my grade drops two letters, while one 10/10 assignment will do nothing to raise it. I’ve seen classmates' mental health hit because of the stress of maintaining excellent academic performance. Educational systems preach about how their students are their priority and that if they need help, they can trust their educators and services. The memory of seeing a teacher tell a student to get out of his class because she failed to turn in homework for the day has always stuck with me. According to him, she shouldn’t be in his class if she prioritizes family over his class. This incident was in high school, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen in university. Classmates at Cal State La have told me stories about professors not understanding.

 

    The question is why I choose this issue and how it affects me directly. Maintaining a smooth college experience has caused me to neglect my mental health. It didn’t matter that I and others would often forgo sleep to work on a project or bottle up how we felt as long as we passed the semester. I picked this issue because I don’t want other students to deal with the same stress and worse. A student's mental health should be the school's priority. Their mental health will impact their school performance and life in general. As a diverse school, Cal State La should be more empathetic to its students' circumstances.

What does the community think? 

    Students agree that stress has impacted them in some way, shape, or form. Here are a few interviews and what current students want to say about the issue.

"Stress is one of the main concerns for students at CSULA. We need more classes available for students and resources to help reduce stress amongst students."

-Jenifer Manzano Munoz

"I feel like we need more support and resources for student's can de-stress themself especially during midterms and final months."

-Ethan Vielma

"I believe that Cal State La isn't doing enough for their students in terms of accommodating for their stress-inducing lives. Students are expected to be on time, or else their grade drops by one letter grade, I am currently experiencing this dilemma due to living far away and having personal responsibilities to my family. Having my grade dropped for something so trivial as attendance is outrageous. Teachers should be more understanding and prep online slide lectures for those who can't make it to campus for whatever reason as long as the work is getting done, there shouldn't be any problems. Professors should try to check in with their student's well-being. If left unaddressed, it can affect their academic performance as their personal life in the long run."

-Jesus Diaz

    As a collective, we are aware that mental health is essential; however, when looking at work culture and the expectations placed on students, It points to an issue of being afraid to address the issue. The stigma surrounding mental health not only prevents students from speaking about it but from universities addressing the problem. The students interviewed spoke about how the school can do better to alleviate the stress placed on them from academic life. More resources should be readily available year-round. Students shouldn't have to wait months just to make an appointment to see a campus therapist, as other students (who chose not to be mentioned) have told me. Mental health is essential because it affects how we go through life and how our bodies handle new challenges.

References

Lamb, C. (2022, September 30). Chris Lamb: College students are in a mental health crisis. Administrators should take action. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2022, from https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-college-students-mental-health-administrators-20220930-2kqzmgtrgnbz7kuhomsr4cdwtm-story.html 

American Addiction Center Editorial Staff. (2022, September 13). School stress for college students and unhealthy coping mechanisms. American Addiction Centers. Retrieved 2022, from https://americanaddictioncenters.org/blog/college-coping-mechanisms  

Reese Druckenmiller, L. I. C. S. W. (2022, August 5). College students and Depression. Mayo Clinic Health System. Retrieved 2022, from https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/college-students-and-depression 

American Psychological Association. (2007, October 24). Stress a major health problem in the U. S. , warns APA [Press release]. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2007/10/stress 

College students. The American Institute of Stress. (2022, March 30). Retrieved 2022, from https://www.stress.org/college-students 

American Psychological Association. (2018, November 1). Stress effects on the body. https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/body    

ACHA. (2022). Publications and reports: ACHA-NCHA III. American College Health Association National College Health Assessment. Retrieved 2022, from https://www.acha.org/NCHA/ACHA-NCHA_Data/Publications_and_Reports/NCHA/Data/Reports_ACHA-NCHAIII.aspx