By Gavin Mendoza, News Editor
College students across the nation are seeking mental health services at higher rates than they did in the past, education leaders say.
College students are reaching out to campus counseling centers and their staff to seek help for mental health issues like depression and anxiety. According to insidehighered.com, 65% of college students report having fair or poor mental health. Sixty-three percent of those who say their mental health is poor, rate their college’s mental health awareness and services at a C or lower.
Taylor Wilson, Northwestern’s director of counseling and career services, said Northwestern has seen a rise in students seeking help.
“There has been a constant increase in students seeking counseling services, especially since the pandemic,” Wilson said.
In a recent survey conducted by student health provider TimelyMD, students said the pandemic has reduced the quality of their education and has worsened their mental health. Students were not alone when it came to an increase in seeking mental health help. Twenty percent of Americans reported experiencing a mental illness, an increase of about 1.5 million people compared to the year before, according apmreports.com.
Depression caused by the pandemic is not the only reason students say they visit counselors.
The most common mental health issues college students experience as of 2021 are depression (40.3%), anxiety (34.2%) and suicide ideation (13.2%).
Wilson said students visit her for many reasons.
“Students seek counseling services for various reasons; some of the most common are depression, anxiety and stress,” Wilson said.
Wilson added that Northwestern has increased its mental health resources because of two grants.
“Northwestern was awarded two higher education prevention services grants, one for opioid prevention and the other for stimulant prevention,” Wilson said.
One of the largest reasons students are hesitant to use some mental health resources is the stigma that surrounds mental health across campuses, according to apmreports.com. However, a recent study conducted by Healthy Minds suggests students are beginning to get rid of the stigma and starting to find it more socially acceptable to talk about mental health.
As more students speak up about their mental health, counseling on campuses is in higher demand than ever before, officials say. Schools have been left scrambling for answers on how to give students treatment the fastest and best ways possible.
Resources provided by Northwestern can be found at https://www.nwosu.edu/student-services/counseling/mental-health-resources.