When I was an undergrad, I became fast friends with a bubbly and seemingly outgoing fellow freshman. We were part of the same crew for a while but as the school year unfolded, we stopped seeing much of her.
She no longer joined us to eat in the dining hall each night. She declined invitations to weekend parties.
When I saw her on campus, she seemed to have turned completely inward, shuffling from class to class with her head down.
I knew something wasn’t right, but I didn’t know what to do, so I did nothing.
After freshman year, I never saw her again.
That experience came to mind recently when an email landed in my inbox with the following subject line: Nearly half current college students have a diagnosed mental health condition.
Despite knowing college students (and younger children) have increasingly experienced mental health challenges, I was alarmed to learn that 46% of young adults in college have been diagnosed with a mental health condition.
When I called a handful of friends, a mix of counselors and therapists, all of whom have interactions with college-age students, I hoped they would tell me this statistic seemed high.
None of them did. Not one of them was surprised.
That so many young people are suffering is bad news, but it’s even worse that many of these students do not get the help they need on college campuses.
According to one report, just over one-third of students who need help connect with mental health resources at their college.
The most diagnosed mental health conditions among college students are anxiety (86%) and depression (78%), according to a recent survey by data management firm Harmony Healthcare IT.
Students across the country have said they struggle to get out of bed or feel so down and depressed they can’t function.
Some of the top stressors are feeling pressured to do well in school, finding it difficult to form deep relationships, time management and concerns about finances. Students said they cope with these feelings by oversleeping and procrastinating.
More than 50% have skipped class because of a mental health condition and in more extreme circumstances, 25% to 40% of college students have taken or considered taking a leave of absence from school due to mental health issues.
Yet, some students said they avoid campus mental health services because of negative past experiences, cost and fear of social stigma.
“Mental health care is inadequate across the board,” said Dr. Alice Feller, a clinical psychologist in Berkeley, California, and author of “American Madness.” “We need better-staffed student health centers.”
Feller told me the college years are often where the first signs of serious mental health conditions begin to surface and addressing it early increases the chance a young person will develop strategies to manage conditions that may impact them for a lifetime.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 75% of lifetime mental health conditions begin by age 24.
“In college … with serious mental illnesses, we really need to get in very quickly and provide intensive treatment which is not just drugs but psychotherapy, family involvement and rehabilitation,” Feller said.
But mental health professionals on college campuses have reported feeling overwhelmed, even before the COVID-19 pandemic sent the incidence of student mental health conditions soaring. Counselors have faced burnout and schools have seen rapid staff turnover in on-campus mental health centers.
Some schools have cut costs by outsourcing mental health services, but when students seek help, faculty members are often jumping in to fill a role they are not equipped to fill, according to a recent report from the National Education Association.
Last year, the organization developed sample letters for its members to send to university presidents, provosts and boards asking them to hire more mental health professionals.
This fall, the University System of Georgia rolled out a new initiative on its 26 campuses across the state. Window decals for residence halls, student activity centers and health centers designed to reach 200,000 students share the availability of mental health assistance by calling, texting or chatting 988. Students also have access to virtual counseling, psychiatric prescribing and mental health training sessions.
Some colleges and universities have developed crisis response teams headed by a clinician who can give an adequate mental health assessment in emergency situations — a response some experts consider preferable to students calling 911 or engaging police officers to do wellness checks.
Other schools have implemented mental health training for all faculty, staff and students and have supported the development of peer-led mental health organizations for students.
Schools must continue to develop initiatives and programs that create a more supportive environment where students feel comfortable seeking mental health assistance. And they must also make sure those resources are accessible and beneficial.
These efforts might have been helpful to me decades ago, giving me the confidence to approach my friend instead of standing by and watching her wither.
Maybe I would know where she is today and have the solace of knowing she is OK.
Read more on the Real Life blog (ajc.com/opinion/real-life-blog/), find Nedra on Facebook (facebook.com/AJCRealLifeColumn) and X (@nrhoneajc) or email her at nedra.rhone@ajc.com.
About the Author
