Young adulthood is a time of growth, learning, and exploration—a time to start building a life of your own and get excited about the future. Yet for some of our nation’s 21 million college students, the transition into adulthood is a time of significant change and intense challenge to their emotional health and well-being.
Recent survey data indicate that in the past year, three out of five students experienced overwhelming anxiety, and two out of five students were too depressed to function. Many students are struggling with mental health concerns like anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. But only a small percentage (10–15 percent on average) of these students seek services at their counseling center. Instead, they continue to struggle, which can have a substantial impact on their academic performance. This disconnect requires campuses to rethink their approach to supporting students with mental health concerns, as for some, early intervention may avert the need for professional help.
Action Steps to Support Emotional Well-Being, Reduce Suicide, and Reduce Substance Abuse
To foster a community of support, campus administration should consider a comprehensive public health approach that promotes emotional well-being, with the goal of reducing suicide and substance abuse on their campuses.
Two guiding principles form the foundation for effecting enduring, systemic change toward this end. First, support for emotional well-being and reduction of suicide and substance abuse must be considered a campus-wide responsibility. Second, it is imperative that senior leadership acknowledge the importance of student mental health and well-being and make this a shared value for the entire campus community.
With these guiding principles in place, faculty, staff, and administration are better positioned to develop a culture of caring and compassion where students feel supported. Some action steps to consider to create that culture include:
Teaching life skills: Supporting life-skills education for students is valuable in teaching healthy ways to cope with the stress of college life. Among the life skills that are important to a student’s well-being are managing friendships and relationships; problem-solving; decision-making; identifying and managing emotions; healthy living; and finding life purpose, meaning, and identity.
For example, Northwestern University (IL) developed an app for students, called “Breathe,” to support healthy living and manage stress. It provides a variety of guided meditations and breathing practices to help deal with stress; reduce the negative impact on mind, body, and spirit; decrease perfectionism and self-criticism; and enhance confidence and well-being.
To read more of this article by Nance Roy, please follow https://www.higheredtoday.org/...ns-college-students/
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