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Causes and effects of stress on college students
The effects of mental health on college students
Introduction about college students and stress
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Heading off to a university is the most exciting milestone of a student’s life since it`s a time of growth and learning but never was post-secondary education thought to have a negative influence towards these young adults. It is the time now that the students begin to face new responsibilities and challenges and learn to conquer them but unfortunately it hasn`t been going the way that it’s been expected to. The rising issue of mental health problems is climbing the ladder as more and more students are being accustomed to it. This is no longer seen as a simple issue; it’s becoming more complex as majority of the students are showing vital signs of helplessness. Obiviously the pathway from high school to a university may be a bit shaky that contains a fair amount of stress and demands but recently the level of stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health problems are exceeding and it’s becoming a crucial concern.
Many factors have been demonstrated and established as to why mental health problems are on a rise and those include such as being isolated in a new environment, distanced away from family and friends, having financial pressures, and the academic requirement from universities; these tend to create a significant pressure or impact on a student’s emotional well-being. Recent study has been conducted and states that Canadian students leaving from high school education into their first year of university have an increasing issue with their mental health but also an amazing set of data has been put together to state accurately that this issue is not just visualized in few universities in Ontario, but all across Canada. Considerately, the mental health and wellness of first year university students is becoming a growi...
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...ar. The stigma around mental health and wellness is massive and it is severely impacting students as they make their transition from high school into university and has also created psychological and social effects not just on the student but also towards the surrounding community; it is a growing epidemic that lays unnoticed.
Works Cited
http://www.collegequarterly.ca/2013-vol16-num01-winter/flatt.html
http://www.fyhe.com.au/past_papers/papers09/content/pdf/8A.pdf
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/06/17/national_survey_of_postsecondary_students_in_canada_shows_stress_and_anxiety_are_major_factors_in_mental_health.html
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/as-student-stress-hits-crisis-levels-universities-look-to-ease-pressure/article5902668/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/mental-health-services-growing-slowly-at-universities-1.1385764
According to an article by Josephine Marcotty in Minneapolis’ Star Tribune from April 10, college students lead “hyper-enriched lives,” said Greg Kneser, dean of students at St. Olaf College. That’s what makes this generation of students distinct from its predecessors, he said. That is why more students who cannot cope with these feelings end up at college counseling centers with “increasingly serious mental-health problems.” 15 to 20 percent of college students nationally were diagnosed with depression. The second most common diagnosis was severe anxiety. According to the article, it is not unusual for mental-health issues to become apparent during a student’s college years.
It is known that depression is a growing issue, but the question is why it is continuing to affect more and more people, specifically students. It is difficult to pinpoint a specific cause when there are so many theories as to what exactly causes depression. Some argue that it is genetic while others say it is a result of too much stress. This is not to say that there is only one cause of depression, but there has to be a reason why the number of depressed students has been increasing in the recent years.
According to the College Health website, “No one is immune from stress, but those entering the ivory towers of college are particularly vulnerable to it.” Attending college for the first time gave me a feeling of displacement, nonetheless, I maintained my sense of priority, I am here to learn, here to excel, and here to focus on my objective.
The clock ticks, sweat drips down foreheads, and the professor watches intently as the students take their tests. It’s finals week, a dreaded time when students cram as much information into their heads as possible and try not to burn out until the completion of their semester exams. There isn’t much to be done about the stress. At this point it is inevitable. The stress put upon students while attending college has caused an increase in the number of suicides as well as a rise in cases of depression.
Many students on a college campus experience stress, depression, or being overwhelmed and rarely seek mental health services on campus. A study was done at a large, highly competitive, public research university, to see how many students experience any of these things and to see how many actually use their available resources (Laven, A.). Studies found that most of these students who experienced these emotional situations tended to have lower grade point averages; however, they indicated that their problems were not serious enough, they had never used the available resources on campus, and they generally knew very little about the resources on campus (Laven, A.). Although many of the freshmen indicated that they would rather turn to friends or family for advice, if the problem is persistent and affects one’s daily life, campus resources should be used.
Upcoming college freshman have had the lowest emotional health in 25 years and a U.S. Psychologist claims, “The average high school kid today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950s.”3 If left untreated in teens it can cause them to have repeated school absences or inability to finish school, impaired relationships with pairs, and drug or alcohol use. The first signs of depression, panic disorders, and anxiety usually start in the late teens or early twenties. Anxiety can affect anyone no matter the age, a volunteer at the charity Anxiety UK said bitterly “It's stopped me from living what I feel is a normal life, doing things like having relationships, perhaps getting married, having children, having a career, ”2. If anxiety becomes extreme enough it can be a debilitating, life-altering
The media may have started a battle against the taboo with stars admitting to problems, in most schools in America silence wrings through the halls about mental health. School should be the first place to start informing students that they could be at risk of a serious problem that could affect them the rest of their life. Research done by the University Mental Health Advisers Network showed that ‘half of all lifetime mental disorders start by the mid-teens and three quarters by the mid 20s” (Time). Avoiding mental health and not informing students of the possibility only puts them at a disadvantage for the rest of their lives. Furthermore, phrases that stigmatize mental health are commonly used, but no one realizes the effect they have on people suffering from problems. A survey of 546 teachers concluded that “88% of teachers and 96% of teaching assistants had heard pupils using phrases which stigmatise mental health in school”(Barber). Always hearing those phrases puts students suffering in a mindset that their pro...
It is alarming that the incidence of this disease is increasing among the students. According to Hales (2016), approximately 15 to 40 percent of college students may develop depression, a higher percentage being among women (p. 36). Generally, the causes of depression in young people are related to their school work, such as stress, especially on undergraduates students because they have to cope with new beginnings. Another risk factor is too little sleep. Most of them are spending a lot of time, especially night time, on the computers for school work or just for fun. Also, the academic pressure can lead to depression, especially on that students with poor academic performance. A family history depression can be another risk factor in students. There are several forms of depression therefore the treatment is different. Also, the disease should be treated differently in man than in woman, because the mode of manifestation of the disease is different for the woman than for the man. Unlike somatic diseases, depression, like many other mental illness benefit from both medication and psychotherapy. The disadvantage of drugs (antidepressants) is that in some cases, in the first few days after the start of treatment, there is an increase in suicidal thoughts or behavior. These patients must be closely monitored. On the other hand, psychotherapy ( brain stimulation therapy, counseling, interpersonal therapy), doesn’t hurt the patient. As with somatic diseases, besides these types of treatments, a special role in fighting this disease is to try to be as active as you can be, doing physical activities, being involved in group activities, set realistic goals for yourself, accept all help that you have
Today a college education can overload students with too many stressful situations. Not only does Stress overload today's college students, but it is also the leading cause of personality disorders. In her essay, Cathy Bell explains that major depressive disorder strikes 5-12% of men and 10-20% of women; half of these people will have more than one occurrence and 15% of them will commit suicide ("Depression for the young"). For instance, many depressives are first recognized and treated during their years in college. For a large amount of people, depression exposes itself because of traumatizing experiences, such as leaving home and/or academic stress. For other students alcohol and drugs become a first time experience.
Stigma refers to any attribute, trait or disorder that labels a person as “unacceptably different” from “normal people” and compounds the already devastating effects of mental health problems. Most people learn what they know about mental illness from the mass media as we are exposed daily to radio, television and newspaper accounts that present people with mental illness as violent, criminal, dangerous, incompetent and fundamentally different from the rest of us. To combat these depictions, anti-stigma education is crucial in changing the attitudes and behaviors of those who don’t understand mental health and
Many young adults don’t know where to go because teaching professionals, and even parents, still have strong stereotypes of mental unwellness which causes them to react negatively towards the child struggling. Stigma is also keeping people from reaching their full potential. 27% of young people report giving up on their ambitions or hopes for the future because of the discrimination they experienced based on stigma. The combination of stigma and fear they won’t be taken seriously keeps people from seeking the help they need. “Depression is often brushed off as attention seeking and anxiety disorders are disregarded as over-reactions or over-exaggerations.” (consultant
Mental health in society today is still associated with a stigma that which people are made to feel afraid or embarrassed to tell a health care professional what they are feeling or thinking. Mental Health includes emotional psychological and social wellbeing. Although the fear of most people is not to speak about or act on the issues they may have, some people need too, there are many factors that play a part in mental health from biological factors, life experiences or even family history. Research studies show that,” a desire to avoid stigma may play a role in the under-coding of behavioral health issues, such as substance dependence or suicide attempts. As a further complication, the diagnostic criteria for some of
Academic stress is very common in student’s lives. Many students assume that making the academic experience their first priority now, will increase the chance of success in the future. School is an important aspect in most teenagers lives and by being so important a teenager can become depressed very effortlessly at school or because of school. Academic stress can take complete control over a student’s life, sometimes leading to depression. At school this may lead to poor attendance, a significant drop in grades or even annoyance with schoolwork, in a good student. There are many studies that have been performed to prove the correlation between responsibility in school and academic performance being the cause to academic stress. Just like there are numerous causes to academic there are also numerous cures, such as changing mind set and behavior. Academic stress is something majority of students in school can relate to and the cause of it can be something small as a bad grade on an evaluation, It will enforce the student to try harder in the future but it will for sure cause some sort of stress, even if it is for a moment. Stress from school can be one of the most essential causes of teen depression.
Lachance Shandrow, Kim . "Discrimination Against Students with Mental Health Issues on the Rise." Discrimination Against Students with Mental Health Issues on the Rise. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
This idea is supported by the results of one survey, in which “respondents cited television and television news programs as a source of information about mental illness in 87% of the sample” (Diefenbach 183). If society is obtaining a large portion of their information on this topic from biased television programs, one solution is certainly to increase the level of accurate information being provided. While Matteo argues that college “psychology programs ought to explore stigma-reducing pedagogies as part of their curricula,” as this will reduce stigma in both those pursuing a career in mental health services and those attending the many schools which “require nonmajors to take introductory psychology” (121), this should be taken a step further; information regarding mental illness should be incorporated into various classes, such as general health, beginning in educational settings prior to college, in order to reach as many people as possible. Preferably, information should start being taught during childhood, as this is the time in which humans are most “impressionable and susceptible to influence” (Diefenbach 183). If accurate information is readily available to society, their dependence on forms of media, such as television, for information on this