Introduction
This research is about exploring mental health as a critical aspect of the well being of an individual. The aim of the paper is to take a closer look at the condition of mental health among college students. Often, college has a lot of pressure on students. This paper seeks to investigate the state of mental health among the students, the causes of the state and what can be done about it. In recent times, this matter is becoming of growing concern, stirring the need for closer analysis. Without a strong mental state, students cannot transit from college to become productive and meaningful people in the society. It is imperative of the relevant administrators to understand the state of their students to help them become better people. This matter cuts deep into the society as college graduates form a large percentage of the people in our society. As such, this research is important to the students and all other stakeholders other than the administrators, such as parents and policy makers.
Literature review
Mental health is defined as the level or state of the psychological well being of an individual. It is the ability of one to successfully perform mental functions, with productivity as the result; being able to form healthy relationships with people and to be able to adapt to changes in one’s environment. The state of mental health affects many aspects of an individual, from their emotions to social wellness. It also affects how one behaves, feels, responds, deals with stress among other things. One of a good mental health is able to function at a level that is satisfactory in terms of behavior and emotional adjustment. Mental health goes a long way to affect a person’s happiness as well as their ability to take delight in life. It affects how well they can balance life’s activities (Rhodan).
The World Health Organization defines mental health as comprising wellbeing, self efficacy, competence as well as one’s ability to be autonomous. The WHO also states that to claim that one has mental wellbeing is to meant that they can effectively cope with the normal stresses of life, be able to realize their abilities and exert them accordingly and to be meaningful individuals in the community.
When it comes to mental illness, this broadly covers all disorders related with mental activities. This could entail thinking, moods, and impaired functioning. Often mental illness cases can be identified through such signs as depression, anxiety, grief, addictions, mood issues, disabilities in learning as well as ADHD (Iarovici).
According to research done by Eisenberg, Downs, Golberstein and Zivin (2009), stigma is huge contributing factor to why many people suffering from mental illnesses do not seek help. The researchers used samples of 5,555 students that was collected from 13 universities. The studies conducted research to check the impact of personal and public stigma on the students’ search for help. The research indicated that public stigma was more prevalent than the personal stigma. Also, they observed that personal stigma tends to be more when it comes to students with certain characteristics as follows: those that are young, male, Asian and from a poor background. They also found that personal stigma had a negative impact on the ability or confidence of the students to seek help.
In another research by Hefner and Eisenberg (2009), a sample of 1378 students was used to evaluate the effect of social support on the mental health of students. The research indicated that students that are much different from the average student tend to be more socially isolated. Such differences are mainly ethnic and socioeconomic. The research indicated that students that tend to be isolated had more cases of mental health than those that were socially active. The level of social engagement was measured by the use of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support.
To check whether the students that need help with mental conditions know about the facilities and whether they use them, Yorgason, Linville and Zitzman (2008) conducted research among undergraduates across several universities. The students filled a web based questionnaire. The findings from the research indicated that most of the students that had mental issues knew about the facilities. However, there was a number of students that did not know about the facilities despite the fact that they needed them. The number of students that are less aware of the facilities had the following characteristics: male, living off campus and having few study years in college. Conversely, female students, especially those that have many years of study have a higher awareness and usage of facilities.
Mental Health among children and young adults
The most common mental issues among children is autism, anxiety disorders and ADHD. in the older children, depression is also very common. The nature of effects of mental illnesses is different among children and young adults as compared to the adults. The brain of an individual continues developing into their mid 20s. This means that when they fall victim to mental disorders, this growth process gets tampered with. It has a likelihood of affecting the rest of their lives. One example is the fact that different developmental skills mature differently within people. Such skills as motor develop much faster than others such as the behavioral. This means that whereas a child will be okay with the basic skills, their development will be affected if they develop conditions such as anxiety disorders. They may consequently develop fear or paranoia that will affect their interactions and ability to form relationships.
Mental issues do not just affect the suffering individual; they go deep into affecting also the lives of those that are close to the patient. When it comes to children, parents are the first support system. They are the ones that should detect any challenges in the development process of the child. It is their duty to take them for checkup and to ensure they get the best care. As such, parents play the primary role in the well being of the child. It is no surprise that parents can be blamed for the state of their child. Other than the parents, friends and family also serve as a strong support system for such patients as they undergo treatment. Children and young adults have a better chance at getting well as compared to the adults. This is because they easily adapt to changes and learning occurs much faster.
Methodology
To find the relevant information regarding mental health among college students, I used secondary research. Secondary research is defined as the use of existing information as opposed to conducting primary research on the ground. Secondary research is different from primary research because whereas primary research involves the collection of data from experiments and surveys, secondary research checks the results of such primary research to uncover the findings from such various sources. According to Rugg and Petre (2007), primary research seeks to find some information that is new to everyone. On the other hand, secondary research is conducted to get information that is new to some people. That is one the clearest distinctions they give. For this research paper, I used this approach because it is the most effective to make the necessary conclusions.
Secondary research was the most appropriate method because what are are interested in is finding the state of mental health among college students and what conditions affect them. The research also aims to identify the causes of the conditions and offers possible ways that they can be prevented. The research is based on collecting information from different primary sources to help identify the findings of different researchers.
Findings
Mental challenges that college students face
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one out of every four students suffers from a mental disorder, although that could be mild. Out of this number, 40% do not seek any help. Also, 80% of the students feel that they are overwhelmed by the task and responsibilities they have. 50% of the students say that their level of anxiety has made them struggle in their academic life.
Depression
According to the research conducted by the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors, the number of college students that confessed to feeling depressed stood at 36.4%. Depression is one of the biggest contributors of many students dropping out of college. Whenever it is left untreated, the condition can lead to high levels of suicide. Depression has many effects. It is mainly characterized with feelings of emptiness and despondency. It can affect one’s ability to eat, sleep and function normally. Depression is a condition of the brain and is caused by one or a combination of genetic, environmental or psychological factors. The American Psychological Association indicates that since the mid-1990s, there has been an increase in the number of cases of depression.
Depression is caused by an imbalance of chemicals in the brain. The way symptoms of depression are expressed in an individual differs from person to person. How one responds to depression is affected by the stage they are in, how they react to change among other reasons. Some of the symptoms include:
Feelings of sadness and unhappiness
Low appetite
Impaired thinking or speech
Little interest in social activities
Lack of energy and sleeplessness
Negative feelings
Poor concentration
Anger or bad feelings about the past
Denial or suicidal thoughts
Identifying signs of depression
One stops enjoying things they love to do
One starts missing out on classes or social gatherings
Extreme emotions of anger or sadness
A sense of apathy towards life
Suicidal talks
Anxiety
Anxiety is a part of human life. This condition only becomes a disorder when it gets between one and their ability to perform their daily duties. When anxiety breeds fear and excessive nervousness, then it becomes a huge problem. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, over 40 million people suffer from anxiety disorders. However, only about one third of these people go out to get assistance. The people that are affected by anxiety get their initial attacks before they turn 22. There are types of anxiety disorders:
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a type of anxiety that interferes with one’s ability to deliver their day to day functions.
Obsessive Compulsive disorder (OCD) leads one to unreasonable compulsions that are repetitive. It may also lead to fear.
Panic Disorder leads to sudden attacks of fear.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the fear that is caused by experiencing horrific events.
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is an anxiety that is caused by the normal social interactions. It makes one have feelings of embarrassment or fear.
Symptoms
Highly irritable
Problems in maintaining concentration
Deeziness
Running short of breath
Experiences of irregular heartbeat
Pain in the muscles
Headaches and stomach upsets
Suicide
If one is unable to deal with the causes of stress in their lives, they may resort to taking their lives. Before one comes to the point of deliberately taking their life, they must have experienced serious issues. Intense feelings of shame and despair can lead one to the point of suicide. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2011 alone, there were about 39,518 death cases of suicide among college students. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students, and in 2011 it was the 10th largest cause of death in the nation. The statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that at least 10% of college students have thought about committing suicide. Before a student gets to the point of being suicidal, they have gone through heavy depression or some other mental illness. Feelings of doubt and frustration can lead one to such points.
The signs
Depression and negative changes in moods
Lots of physical pain
Poor performance in key areas such as academics
Social avoidance
Changes in personality or behavior
Factors contributing to the mental health issues
Technology
Although technology has come with lots of opportunities, it has also created a world that is flat and isolated. College students tend to spend lots of time on their laptops, smartphones and tablets with the hope of feeling the connection that they can get from meeting in real life. It is now, a lot easier for one to hide in depression and fake a good chat on the devices. Due to its contribution in isolation and separation of people, technology has contributed to the mental health situation (Hunt and Eisenberg).
Also, technology has contributed to many choices. According to research, more choices tend to lead to more pressure and high stress levels. When there is an information overload, one has to take more time to both weigh and consider to make a decision. This contributes to the stress levels.
Existential confusion
The replacement of religion with science has brought many benefits. One challenge though is that science has not given people a sense of purpose like religion does. As such, many young people live without identifying what the right thing to do nor why they should. Science only presents the young people with many options and gives them freedom, but lacks the explanation on why all that matters. As such, many young people do not seem to understand where they belong (Hunt and Eisenberg).
Economic and financial pressure
Students that come from poor backgrounds tend to experience pressure from their lacking. The fast life in college can get the best of a student that is from a poor background, making them feel inferior to others. Students are getting in debt to get an education and some have to take up an extra job to be able to pay their tuition fees.
Failing families
The other contributing factor is the breakdown of the traditional family structure. With the high cases of divorce, children are lacking a strong base that makes them stable to face the issues of life. Whereas it may be seen as traditional view, the breakdown of the family structure is a contributing factor to the mental cases among college students (Henriques).
References
Eisenberg, D., Downs, M.F., Golberstein, E. and Zivin, K., 2009. Stigma and Help Seeking for Mental Health Among College Students. Medical Care Research and Review, 66(5), pp.522–541.
Hefner, J. and Eisenberg, D., 2009. Social support and mental health among college students. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 79(4), pp.491–499.
Henriques, G., 2014. What Is Causing the College Student Mental Health Crisis? [online] Psychology Today. Available at: <https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/theory-knowledge/201402/what-is-causing-the-college-student-mental-health-crisis> [Accessed 3 May 2017].
Hunt, J. and Eisenberg, D., 2010. Mental Health Problems and Help-Seeking Behavior Among College Students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 46(1), pp.3–10.
Iarovici, D., 2014. Mental health issues and the university student. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Rhodan, M., 2016. Back to School: College Is a Risky Time for Mental Health. [online] Time. Available at: <http://time.com/4473575/college-mental-health-guidebook/> [Accessed 3 May 2017].
Rugg, G. and Petre, M., 2007. A gentle guide to research methods. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Yorgason, J.B., Linville, D. and Zitzman, B., 2008. Mental Health Among College Students: Do Those Who Need Services Know About and Use Them? Journal of American College Health, 57(2), pp.173–182.