Mental health has become an important discussion that has been showing up in the media lately. There are many types of mental health, but depression and anxiety have seen a rise. Most teens, adults have reported experiencing anxiety and depression.
This article takes a deep dive into understanding depression and its effect on college campuses and focusing the lens on students. For many colleges is an exciting time in their lives, many learn to be independent, they experience stress, social pressure and learn to navigate how to be an adult. According to Newport Institute, the rate of depression on college campuses is on the rise, so is the data for racial and ethnic groups.
There isn’t much difference when looking at the feedback from studies and reports, most often racial and ethnic background affect the resources available, to the individual.The data show that in a survey of more than 350,000 college campuses there were 370 campuses who had increasing depression rates. That means out of the campuses that were surveyed a small number of campuses reported high rates of depression. While this number is small, it is still important to highlight that there is a rise in the data.
“Researchers who surveyed almost 14,000 first-year college students (in eight countries) found that 35 percent struggled with a mental illness, particularly depression or anxiety”--greatergood.berkeley.edu
One of the things that made these mental health crises even more intense is the pandemic. Psychologist and associate Director of wellness center at Rowan University Amy L Hoch, explains.
“We are very much like other campuses across the nation, you know, that pre-pandemic, we were seeing an increase in anxiety and depression, in general with students. And then when students, you know, went through the pandemic, we saw even more of an increase in that but also more loss, you know, not only from, let's say, deaths and illness related to the pandemic, but you know, there's just loss of normalcy, you know, what we normally were able to do.
And that actually, I think, were many people created, you know, feelings of depression, and loss, and anxiety and depression are often the seesaw.”--Ms. Hoch
While considering the pandemic, it is also important to look at which type of students are likely to be vulnerable to depression in college. There are low-income students, students of color, female students, LGBTQ students and students who are caregivers for other adults and children, according to Newport Institute.
Let's actually look at what depression is, it is a mental illness that causes feelings of sadness and/or loss of interest in activities. This can lead to physical problems and can make it difficult for one to function at work or even socialize. So, what are the symptoms it varies some people may experience mild to severe symptoms, which can include experiencing sadness or having depressive mood, feeling worthless or guilty, thoughts of death or suicide, loss of energy, fatigue, just to name a few. Hoch, elaborate further.
“Well, we use depression a lot in this culture to describe a lot of different things. And I think it can mean anything from feeling sad, to what we think of as more clinical depression, which is really, you know, a set of symptoms that can look different across different people, but often includes, you know, persistent sadness, crying feelings of guilt, loss of interest in activities that you might have enjoyed doing in the past, it can include thoughts about hurting oneself.
It can include somatic symptoms, like difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite, headaches, aches and pains in general, it can look like irritability, and often shows itself a little bit differently in males and females, and, you know, people who identify differently in terms of their gender identity.”--Ms. Hoch
When experiencing depression some may find it difficult to seek help. This is due to the taboo that society has created around the discussions of mental health. The long term effect of this can be damaging to some students. Experiencing hopelessness, low-self-esteem, sadness experiences in such a demanding and stressful environment can trouble students' ability to be focused, motivated meet deadlines and partake in college life.
Teachers and staff can notice students' withdrawal from social activities, classes and decline participation with friends and support systems like family and clubs.
So what are some schools doing to combat mental health like depression?
They are bringing awareness to the situation, educating students on the symptoms and steps to take when you notice something. Think of it like this, when someone goes for a swim, one would prefer that they be surrounded by people who are familiar with CPR and the steps to take to save a life? In a similar viewpoint this is what the schools are doing. At Rowan there is a program called QPR training, which is to help people identify issues and know how to act, the program is open to everyone and is often regularly.
“So why not address mental health more directly? Many colleges are beginning to proactively share mental health information with students during face-to-face orientation sessions. Approaches vary from traditional presentations and panel discussions, to role plays, short videos, and student testimonials followed by small group discussions.
Here, students learn how to recognize mental illness symptoms, where to find resources and support, and how to talk to friends who might be struggling.”--greatergood.berkeley.edu
There are other resources such as free mental health screenings, programs and courses. Colleges also provide 24/7 trained help center individuals to assist students in any time of need. Hoch has noticed that oftentimes schools have a lot of resources available but students don’t know about it or take advantage of their wellness center. She has expressed that there are different forms of resources provided to make sure that students feel welcome. There is a disconnect and wellness centers are trying to figure out a better way to get the word out to students.
Hannah Weiser 19, a senior at Camden County College, “I've experienced my fair share. It was not a fun experience and truly made me feel hopeless. It helped me relate to people going through stuff like this on a whole new level. No.
My college offers very limited mental health resources and most of it is just groups which can make people feel uncomfortable. Teachers were also very uneducated on the topic and just assumed it's laziness.”
Felix Pardo 25, a junior at Everglades University, “ Personally, the thing that has affected me the most since I started college has been family problems, money issues, work, life changing events, and relationship problems.
Even though I go through these problems and I don’t really get time to feel sad for myself or stop and take a breath because unfortunately the world doesn’t give you time to adjust and feel sad, the bills still come in and people still go through their lives.
Even though school doesn’t cause these problems, it doesn’t help either. School is just another task I have to do because if I don’t not only would I have wasted time and money but also a lot of opportunities would not be available for me. At my school there are people you can talk to about your problems but that is about it and even though that’s enough for some, others need help making a plan to tackle these problems in life.”
It’s clear that there is still a lot of work to be done, just talking about mental health is just the beginning of finding solutions. Maybe students are looking for specific kinds of help while getting support for mental health. Students need to be ok seeking help and professionals need to find ways to express their support and resources to students. It is a community effort that still has a long way to go.
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