An article published today at NYTimes.com highlighted anxiety as a big and fast-growing problem at US colleges and universities. From the article:
"Anxiety has now surpassed depression as the most common mental health diagnosis among college students, though depression, too, is on the rise. More than half of students visiting campus clinics cite anxiety as a health concern, according to a recent study of more than 100,000 students nationwide by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health at Penn State.
Nearly one in six college students has been diagnosed with or treated for anxiety within the last 12 months, according to the annual national survey by the American College Health Association."
Do you think there has been a real change in student anxiety? If so, what’s to blame? Social media? High costs and loans? Sketchy employment prospects for many?
Not just parents, although they are likely the primary driver. Society also places a lot of pressure on kids via the ranking mentality (i.e. “Oh, that’s a good school, but it’s not Harvard”).
[40% of Harvard students have sought mental health support](Class of 2014, By The Numbers)… 40%… That’s damn near half of the school! While I think it’s great these students are seeking out help for their problems, I think 40% is a staggering number… and the fact that there are likely unreported problems suggests the total percentage is higher than that.
I’m with scsiguru on this, but it’s not just parental pressure. GCs, CC, peers, etc. are also putting pressure on the kids to be superhuman achievers. It starts in high school (and sadly, much earlier for some). Go read a thread on CC about “what it takes” to get into an elite school. The kids (often falsely) think it takes 15 APs, 1000 hours of community service, dedication to a sport, mastery of a musical instrument, starting one’s own successful business, etc. etc. just to make it into the second round in the admissions process. There is an epidemic of Adderall abuse (as a “study aid”)among high school and college kids. Kids can’t be kids anymore! They have precious little down time and are sleep deprived. We, as parents, are the ones who need to dial it back and let the kids know that it’s okay to be average, its okay to be a plumber or postal worker, to go into the military, to go to city college, to get a job right out of high school. I live in one of the most expensive zip codes in the US and some of the most successful people I know (own million dollar properties, are happy and comfortable financially) are plumbers! I know a 19 year old who went straight into postal work from high school and I heard this week that he just purchased his first home! There are many paths to success. Our kids need to know that.
Profs will actually use red pens when grading your assignments (rather than the more friendly “purple pens”)
You rarely have extra credit opportunities or chances to redo a bad grade.
People don’t care if you don’t show up for lecture or miss an assignment because your goldfish was sick that day.
Facing all of that, along with being away from home, having to do your own laundry, making some decisions for themselves, of course there would be anxiety.
In that context it makes sense to provide safety rooms filled with bubbles and play doh and videos of cute puppies. It also makes sense that some students could be so triggered by seeing a flag, that of course, their natural inclination is to remove flags.
And of course, regulations and the fear of lawsuits, play a role in this.
We can continue the path of coddling kids through college, and even be with them on their first job interview (wasn’t there a thread about that a while ago?), but as they face even more “triggers”, unpleasant ideas and disagreements and the gasp idea that they are not the center of the universe, they will crash even harder - and at 25 or 30 will not have developed the skills to deal with it.
My vote is that it is okay for people to have anxiety and they need to find ways to get re-oriented to reality vs. hiding in the safe rooms and under the protection of helicopter parents that has done them a huge disservice.
Anxiety is a normal part of living. Sometimes, in some people, often only when exposed to particular situations, it gets out of control and causes problems. The symptoms vary a lot - anxiety attacks, OC behavior, hair-pulling, etc. etc. Sometimes, people get over their fears on their own, but there’s nothing wrong with seeking help from a professional.
anxiety, depression, compulsion etc… are all part the same basic chemical imbalances. it is not that one causes the other but, that they are very close cousins (as a way to put it) I am not sure that anxiety is more common than depression in college students…perhaps it is more acceptable for people to admit to having anxiety over admitting to having depression.
Honestly, I think these kinds of things are becoming more “common” in large part because the stigma surrounding mental health is improving. The more “acceptable” they become within society, the more comfortable and willing people are to come forward. The mounting pressure from all sides (society, peers, etc) to be successful (aka go to the best college possible with the intent of coming out with a 100k/year starting salary) is contributing as well.
It is in the context of appreciating the anxiety problem – which is real and worsening instead of just “mental health issues being better accepted” – that I believe the kid’s article about Columbia and the Ivy League should have been read. For my money, posts #1 and #3 above were right on the money. The squeeze on even the brightest kids is just getting tighter and tighter. As just one small example, pre-meds can excel (tremendous pressure and weeding just at the pre-med level), but increasingly the bar for what one must do to be a truly competitive med school applicant has gotten so high that many can’t apply while they are still in college. Many need at least one and often two “gap years” just to reach an adequate level in terms of the ECs being demanded (certain amounts of research, non-clinical volunteering, clinical volunteering, shadowing, starting some creative initiative that shows leadership and commitment to the underserved and sticking with it, etc, etc). I offered my own take on the general cultural problem a couple of years ago…
dsi411, there is a difference between anxiety disorders and problematic anxiety, and also between “biologic/chemical” anxiety and anxiety produced, cultivated, and facilitated by cultural/social pressures. While mentioning the former, my take is that the article is emphasizing the spike in the latter.
I think people are aware of it and what’s causing it: the problem is there isn’t a solution on the table. Right now, ask any kid at almost any college: they will tell you that they could be without a decent job come graduation. You’re competing for a limited resource and even if you work hard and well you can fail. Imagine trying to get on your feet in that environment. We position ourselves as best we can, but it’s not a guarantee, even with the economy improving.
I don’t think it’s anything happening at college or in college. Grades are just that: grades. It’s life beyond that’s stressful. This isn’t just a college thing, high schoolers are affected as well as they start to plan their future.
That is ridiculous. My D was beginning finals in Baltimore during the recent riots and the school did not postpone or reschedule finals! Parents were a bit concerned about the personal safety of the students, but the school deemed itself secured and safe ( which it was) and finals went on. These are young adults, they need to learn how to cope. My D was diagnosed with anxiety disorder in high school but seems to be handling college just fine. She is the first to admit the pressure was self induced; part of her perfectionist personality. She needed to be first, which she was lol. I think she accepts that college is more challenging, everyone is smart, and she is content to do her best and let the chips fall where they may. I think the whole everyone is a winner and everyone gets a trophy movement with the young kids only sets them up for an inability to handle failure.