The transition to college can be a struggle for any student of any age. The combined stresses of schoolwork, living on your own and pressure to socialize is overwhelming and exhausting. As a result, college students commonly struggle with mental health issues, ranging from depression and anxiety to ADHD and eating disorders.
Mental health has the ability to affect almost every aspect of a student’s life, including sleep cycles, eating and emotional and physical self-neglect; it also negatively affects success in academics as well as weekly attendance in a lecture. Majority of college students — specifically more than 60% — are diagnosed with a mental health disorder, according to a recently published survey by Healthy Minds.
The heavy workload of assignments and studying while handling her job is what junior Katelyn McCarty attributes to her emotional and mental stress. “There really is no time for a break,” McCarty said. “It always feels like there’s not enough time in the day for me to keep up with everything I have to do. Even when I get my work done, I feel like it’s not my best work because I’m stretched so thin.”
More often than not, students feel crushed by the weight of academics — in the senses of workload and pressure to succeed. Junior Antonio Mosby expressed similar sentiments as McCarty. “I feel like I’m still trying to figure out who I am while being pressured to get a degree. It’s really overwhelming, and I’m exhausted all the time.”
A recent survey shows that more than half of students with reported symptoms of mental health do not seek help. Evidently, students may feel there is a communication standard that they are expected to meet, despite being unable to express their struggles; this may result in stress, intimidation and hesitancy for students to ask for help.
“I feel that reaching out for help is intimidating in general because you would be questioned about what’s wrong and what you need,” said senior Cara Cordova. “In reality, the reason I would be reaching out for help would be because I don’t know what’s wrong or what I need.”
St. John’s University offers various methods of mental health support, including the Center for Counseling and Consultation (CCC). Alongside most colleges, St. John’s utilizes a short-term model for treating students with “a whole range of challenges,” specifically mental health ones, on campus. The CCC provides six free therapy appointments with campus counselors and psychologists; afterwards, the treatment is either ended if necessary or students are referred to external counselors.
However, some students may find the short-term model of help too short and will look to a long-term therapist instead. “This is a daunting task,” said senior Annie Murphy. “The most important thing is to do your research.” Finding a therapist who specializes in specific needs will allow a student’s focus to remain on helping the aspects of their mental health that need the most attention.
One way to do so is to start by seeing what costs insurance covers — it is important to ensure that asking for help will not put financial stress on a student. Another way is to reach out to your primary care doctor; whether an individual requires psychiatric care, therapy sessions or simply a consultation, a primary care doctor will have referrals readily available.
Additionally, student-run organizations also have events that promote wellbeing and de-stressing. Specifically, the American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (AAPP) is an SJU organization that provides care for individuals with mental health disorders. In the spring semester, the AAPP opened a meditation room for finals week, allowing students to cope with the overwhelming stresses of college life.
Life can be incredibly stressful when it comes to classes, socialization and the pressure that comes with both. St. John’s University has several resources to aid students who are struggling with mental health issues; if more treatment is needed, it is important for students to seek long-term help from consistent resources. However, these short-term resources give students a jump start into their mental health journey.