Difficult departure
Leaving home for college may increase mental health issues
This year, college and university students will face an unprecedented amount of stress as school officials welcome back people to campuses amid the COVID-19 pandemic resurgence due to the Delta variant.
Moving from home to live on campus or an apartment near school has always been both an exciting and anxious time for students. Traditionally, taking this major step in life is accompanied by added stressors, including a rigorous class schedule, making new friends, and adjusting to new responsibilities. However, this year students face additional stressors, such as severe fear and anxiety of getting infected, and potential to be isolated from loved ones and friends, creating a higher risk for a mental health crisis.
Before COVID-19, student surveys from the American College Health Association (ACHA), revealed that in 2019 about 60 percent of respondents said they often felt “overwhelming” general anxiety while 40 percent experienced depression so severe they often had difficulty functioning. Then during the pandemic, more than 65 percent of students reported feeling anxious and depressed — worried about loved ones contracting the variant, financial issues related to it and how that stress, on top of worrying about studies, would impact their mental health.
It’s important that parents, educators, and students themselves are aware that for new college students and those with underlying and undiagnosed mental health conditions, help is available during crisis.
There are two major mental health issues that are typically diagnosed when a person is in their late teens or twenties: borderline personality disorder and schizophrenia. Both are often triggered when a major life incident occurs during that age. Often, undiagnosed mental health issues become evident when individuals in this age bracket experience significant stress
Statewide, including Oakland County, attention is focused on vaccinations for college students. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 47.3 percent of Americans between the age of 18 and 24 have received at least one dose of vaccine, increasing the concerns for some of getting infected on campus. At press time, 56.5 percent of Oakland County residents between the ages of 16 and 29 have received their first dose.
For the past 18 months, students have been forced into a hybrid learning environment or a completely digital educational experience. As college and university leaders have reopened in-person learning, many students will be thrust into campus life. Students are entering college with heightened concern: worries about coronavirus infecting them or their family, pressure to be social and face-to-face contact with others after being safely isolated at home for so long.
It is essential for young people as well as parents, and educators to learn how to recognize the warning signals of a mental health crisis: sleep issues, hopeless outlook, fatigue, feelings of panic or dread, trouble focusing or focusing too much on something worrisome, changes in appetite or weight, irritability, trouble getting along with others, hearing voices, mood swings (high and low) suicidal thoughts and self-harm all require attention.
It is important that young adults know how to navigate through their universities should they or their roommates/friends feel triggered with anxiety, depression, or other issues. It is also crucial that loved ones keep in communication to monitor students for any stress they may have — and help them receive professional services if needed. The good news is that cognitive behavioral therapy, family therapy, medication, and social skills training, are keys to helping students thrive. Notably, the earlier an individual is diagnosed and treated the higher their success level.
Also on the positive side, today’s youths are more likely to seek help and discuss their issues with campus mental health counselors more than any generation before them.
Workshops, peer support and crisis services are available at most universities, but that’s just the start of treatment. It is crucial that a student in crisis receive a diagnosis so they can receive the medical attention they need.
College life should be one of the best times in a young person’s life, but transitioning away from home isn’t always easy. With the right planning and understanding of available resources to protect their mental health, it can still be the time of their lives.