Mental Health Problems among College Students
Mental health is a primary concern on various college campuses across the world. According to the article by Auerbach et al., (2016), over one-third of the students joining the college for first time are affected. According to their study, Auerbach et al., (2016) indicates that the most common mental problem is major depressive disorder. The disorder is characterized by mood disorder that creates persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. The college depression cannot be clinically diagnosed since it starts during the college. The college students are usually faced by various pressure and anxieties that forces them to feel overwhelmed. It might be the first time they are away from home or trying to adjust to the new environment or coping with workloads. This essay, therefore, highlights the causes of mental health problems among college students, signs and the possible solutions to these problems.
Causes of Mental Health Problems among College Students
Depression does not have a specific cause. Different factors can lead to depression among college students. In some cases, some individuals poses genes that increases their risk of depression. But not all individuals affected with depressions have the genes, just like not all the individuals with such genes have depression (Kreider et al., 2015). Environment factors have also been considered to contribute to depression. For instance, the surrounding and life challenges puts individual at risk of depression. The stress among campus students may include; living far from home for the first time which leads to missing family members as well as friends. It make students feel isolated and lonely and consequently leading to depression.
Another common cause of depression among college students is conflict in relationships. Most of students struggle in their relationships while in college and it is a stressful event that lead students to depression (Eells & Rando, 2010; Kreider et al., 2015). Some college routines are complicated, with lots of work. It usually requires time for students to adjust to such environment. Some learners might find it hard to adjust, falling to deep thought leading to depression. Finally, being in college is involving, some students are living away for the first time and struggling to cover for their expenses. Financial issues might lead students to stressful events.
Signs of Depression among Students
Mental health challenges and traits of distress include high level of anxiety as well as problems in concentrating. It is also characterized by emotional dysregulation and increased stress which are the usual complications for most students. The emotional and psychological distress has the capacity to negatively affect educational outcome, majorly on learners who are equally self-managing other symptoms of psychiatric disabilities and conditions as suggested by Kreider et al., (2015).
College Student Mental Health and Success
According to Byrd & McKinney, (2012), there is a connection between metal health and academic performance among college students. The study further explains that physical, cognitive and emotional conditions determines the level of understanding among the college learners. The study indicates that students under stressful events have challenges in grasping concepts compared to their fellow individuals. The depressed students are marked with traits of requiring a lecture to repeat the concepts before they can effectively follow the idea (Byrd & McKinney, 2012). The current education system does not care for individuals who are having mental health challenges in the same setting with other students. Hence, these depressed students are often left behind and records low grades.
Management of Mental Health Problems
Joining a college indicates new freedoms and opportunities. It is important for students to prepare well before joining the college. In this case, the students are required to choose the right college that will facilitate their transition easily. Choosing the right college features includes location of the institution, living situations as well as the size of the campus. Choosing the right college will help in minimizing the contact with stressful events that might lead to depression.
It is important to consider seeking help once an individual has realized the symptoms of mental health problems (Eells & Rando, 2010). Various colleges have realized the increased number of students seeking help as a result of their depressions and have since established institutions to help students overcome their distressed moments.
In different institutions, counseling course is offered to new students as they join. The program is aimed at helping students adjust to the new college environment and reduces their chances of drop-out since the study indicates that mental health problem is responsible for over 45% of students dropping out (Eells & Rando, 2010).
Barriers to the Seeking Help
According to the research by (Conley et al., 2015), only few students have been able to seek for help within the colleges. It is considered that more than half of the affected students do not report their problems (Conley et al., 2015). The study by Ashwood et al., 2015; Conley et al., (2015) suggest that a number of college learners who should be receiving the services are not doing so. In their research, Ashwood et al., (2015) indicates that most students faces obstacles identity fear, stigma as well as the stereotype perceptions about mental illness. The other barriers include time and preference for self-management. The study further indicates that lack of knowledge and limited services.
Conclusion
The problem of metal health is a major challenge in colleges across the world. Its impact on college students is witnessed in the drop-out rate and academic performance. As a result of consistent calls by various institutions, there has been increased number of students reporting for mental problems. The increased number of students indicates how serious the problem is affecting students.
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References
Auerbach, R. P., Alonso, J., Axinn, W. G., Cuijpers, P., Ebert, D. D., Green, J. G., ... " Nock, M. K. (2016). Mental disorders among college students in the World Health Organization world mental health surveys. Psychological medicine, 46(14), 2955-2970.
Kreider, C. M., Bendixen, R. M., " Lutz, B. J. (2015). Holistic needs of university students with invisible disabilities: A qualitative study. Physical " occupational therapy in pediatrics, 35(4), 426-441.
Eells, G. T., " Rando, R. A. (2010). Components of an effective college mental health service. Mental health care in the college community, 43-56.
Byrd, D. R., " McKinney, K. J. (2012). Individual, interpersonal, and institutional level factors associated with the mental health of college students. Journal of American College Health, 60(3), 185-193.
Conley, C. S., Durlak, J. A., " Kirsch, A. C. (2015). A meta-analysis of universal mental health prevention programs for higher education students. Prevention Science, 16(4), 487-507.
Ashwood, J. S., Stein, B. D., Briscombe, B., Sontag-Padilla, L. M., Woodbridge, M. W., May, E., ... " Burnam, M. A. (2015). Payoffs for California college students and taxpayers from investing in student mental health. Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation.
