Most College Students Suffer From A Mental Illness
A recent study from Boston University confirms that most colleges students are suffering from some form of mental illness.
Youth mental health care is in crisis. While many public schools are working to combat mental illness for K-12 students, higher education is suffering. A recent study has confirmed that most college students are suffering from some form of mental illness.
Then came the pandemic. Long-term isolation, masking, and a national campaign to warn students about spreading germs have only seemed to exacerbate the situation. Boston University researchers found this so troubling that they set to work examining mental illness in college students and the results are highly alarming. It was revealed that in just eight years’ time, depression has increased by almost 135%. Anxiety has skyrocketed 110%.
The study analyzed data from over 350,000 college students. This spanned across 373 campuses between 2013 and 2021. While mental concerns throughout the years were on a slight incline, they rose by 60% between 2020 and 2021 alone, confirming warnings that excessive pandemic protocols would be harmful to children and young adults.
As if this weren’t concerning enough, due to lack of access to mental health care throughout the lockdowns and social distancing protocols, less college students have sought outside help for their issues. This is most prevalent in minority communities. While multiracial college students experienced a 45% increase in mental illness, only about 9% of these individuals sought and received treatment.
Many are questioning how this could be. For years lawmakers and school officials have been focused on providing mental health treatments and support. During the Obama administration, a federal initiative to provide college mental care was launched. Yet despite these efforts, students were not aided by the programs, and their mental states may have been further harmed by government interference.
This spells trouble for future generations. While many universities are working to provide better mental health care, and even allow students mental health sick days so they can better handle their struggles, the majority of college campuses are also promoting gender theory, and gender confusion itself increases the risk of mental illness. More than half of college students are suffering from mental issues as colleges across the nation continue promoting theories that are proven to deteriorate mental stability. Whether parents, school officials, and lawmakers recognize that there may be a connection, just as the connection between social distancing and long-term mask-wearing has also been linked to a decline in proper mental health is unknown.
For now, college students are battling more struggles than in previous years. They have experienced unprecedented challenges and continue to suffer. How each college addresses this ongoing issue is dependent on many factors.
Many fear that federal initiatives have not helped, and neither have excessive safety measures and identity-affirming practices. In order to properly advise college students through their mental illnesses and guide them toward success, new studies and practices may be necessary in order to combat the damage done through various campus programs. For now, students in crisis are advised to seek help. Whether through professionals or even just support groups, being able to find healthy coping mechanisms and practices to manage mental issues has proven successful on local, individualized levels and is desperately needed for more than half of young adults enrolled in degree programs.
