Blog (TE)

Mental Health Awareness for College Students

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Mental Health and Its Stigma

Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which a person can deal with normal stresses of life, work productively, and interact with those around them and their community. 3 Mental health can be determined by different factors associated with ones’ lives like your community and environment and is a critical part of the behaviors and attitudes of a person. 5 The type of mental health illnesses can include but are not limited to depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, eating disorders, substance abuse disorders, and bipolar disorders. 1

There is a common stigma associated with mental health which can affect the awareness of it. Many people don’t like to talk about mental illnesses or mental health in general. The fear of being judged or thought of differently for having a mental illness causes many issues. A lot of times people don’t get the help or support that they need because of this negativity. Many people hold untrue beliefs about mental health.

 

Signs and Symptoms of Mental Illnesses

Being aware of the signs and symptoms of a mental illness can be important when seeing them in others around you or even yourself. Some (but not all) common warning signs include: 2

  • Excessive worrying or fear
  • Changes in sleeping and eating habits
  • Avoiding social interactions or activities
  • Substance abuse like alcohol or drugs
  • Suicidal thoughts
  • Extreme mood changes with feelings of extreme highs or extreme lows
  • Feeling extremely sad or lonely
  • Inability to carry out daily activities or handle daily problems
  • Changes in school performance

 

You Are Not Alone 

Being in college can be a very stressful and overwhelming time for some students. Mental health is a growing problem faced among college students around the world every day. 30% of students had reported that they had problems with school due to a mental health issue and 50% of students reported that their mental health was below average or poor. 1 Overall, 40% of students fail to seek help for their mental health issues. 1 Mental health can take on a variety of forms and not everyone will feel the same. There is nothing to be ashamed or fearful of because mental health can affect anyone.

 

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What You Can Do

Being aware that mental illness does occur in others or yourself is the first step in trying to help you or others around you. To get away from the negative stigma associated with mental health is important for people to spread awareness and help those around them. Identifying the warning signs will be able to help the people around you and yourself when it comes to mental health and being able to get the help and support needed.

 

 

 

References

  1. College Students Speak: A Survey Report on Mental Health. NAMI. https://www.nami.org/getattachment/About-NAMI/Publications-Reports/Survey-Reports/College-Students-Speak_A-Survey-Report-on-Mental-Health-NAMI-2012.pdf.   Accessed February 13, 2020.
  1. Know the Warning Signs. NAMI. https://www.nami.org/learn-more/know-the-warning-signs. Accessed February 13, 2020.
  2. Martinez J. Ending the mental health stigma. KGUN. https://www.kgun9.com/news/mental-illness/ending-the-mental-health-stigma. Published September 12, 2018. Accessed February 14, 2020. Image
  3. Mental health focus as Men’s Health Week continues. Action Mental Health. https://www.amh.org.uk/news/mental-health-focus-as-mens-health-week-continues/. Accessed February 14, 2020. Image
  4. Mental health: strengthening our response. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response. Published March 30, 2018. Accessed February 13, 2020.