Current Events > Latest convo among university professionals is increasing mental health issues.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Each year, there are particular issues that my higher ed circles focus on in conferences and trainings. A few years back, it was hazing, sexual assault, then veteran student GI issues, and last year being Emotional Support Animals (ESAs). This year, it seems the conversation is revolving around student mental health.

Usually these conversations are spurred by increased activity around that particular topic regarding the incoming freshman class. For reasons we have yet to pinpoint, more students than ever are entering college with cited mental health issues, including depression, PTSD, Bipolar tendencies, anxiety, among others.

As a result, there is increased required training for us as administrators to be able to handle the unique issues they bring, which add increased costs to universities to provide the resources, which increases university spending, which overall increases tuition dollars.

Who knows what next year's convo will be? I'm surprised I haven't seen this discussed more in the media (the closest I've seen is the discussion of people "triggered" by political protests or actions, but that's not really the same).

College students are entering more and more with both self-proclaimed and doctor-diagnosed mental health issues. What are your thoughts on this?
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Just this year, I have had a record low number of judicial issues to address since the start of classes, yet a record high number of counseling appointments from students suffering from first-week-of-school anxieties.

Less students are out partying and more are depressed in their rooms. It's less visible in larger campuses where the traditional partiers are the loudest students on campus, but the numbers are changing.
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The incoming freshmen are from a generation that has had technology at their fingertips since birth. It's not natural to communicate through electronic devices alone. Human interaction is healthy and necessary for proper brain development.
Either that or it's an attention thing. If I act anxious, I get support and attention.
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For reasons we have yet to pinpoint, more students than ever are entering college with cited mental health issues, including depression, PTSD, Bipolar tendencies, anxiety, among others.

Because it's become cool to have a mental illness. Look on facebook at any time and it's full of everyone talking about what real depression is and how they were all emotionally abused.

It's honestly a joke.

Now, if you have real mental issues then that's fine. More power to you. I take zoloft for depression. But I don't feel the need to advertise it.
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Godnorgosh posted...

TC, I wonder if any data exists on levels of student loan debt these first year students are taking on, and if so, whether there's an obvious correlation between that and reported rates of depression, etc.

unlikely, considering that student debt was increasing even before this new wave of self diagnoses

Trump anxiety.
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DelianSK posted...

Because it's become cool to have a mental illness. Look on facebook at any time and it's full of everyone talking about what real depression is and how they were all emotionally abused.

It's honestly a joke.

Now, if you have real mental issues then that's fine. More power to you. I take zoloft for depression. But I don't feel the need to advertise it.

It's not my place to judge whether the mental illness hold any true merit, but my job is to treat every mental health issue as a real issue with real consequences. The problem we are facing in universities is that the increased workload caught us unprepared, forcing us to hire more staff, training existing staff, and purchase various software packages used to track meetings with students, compile threat reports, resource guides, etc.

It's a costly and time-consuming process and it keeps me from doing my other million jobs to run the college.
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Godnorgosh posted...

Advanced tech didn't start with this wave of freshmen, though. Something else is going on here.

nah I think the social media generation is a pretty decent explanation of what's going on

this is a trend taht's been going on; not exclusive to college students, etiher

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/our-changing-culture/201510/are-mental-health-issues-the-rise
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Godnorgosh posted...

TC, I wonder if any data exists on levels of student loan debt these first year students are taking on, and if so, whether there's an obvious correlation between that and reported rates of depression, etc.

No data that I am aware of, though it would be an interesting study to take on for an aspiring doctoral student.

I'd say it may be an issue for increased anxiety and depression amongst recent college graduates, but I'm talking about college freshmen here. I don't think they truly feel the weight of student loans until they have to pay it back.
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The Admiral posted...

Trump anxiety.

this raises an interesting point. why are college students so emotionally and mentally fragile, to the point where trump being elected literally caused them to need crayons and play-doh? what is it about our education system over the last five years that has utterly destroyed the youth?

Balrog0 posted...

Godnorgosh posted...

Advanced tech didn't start with this wave of freshmen, though. Something else is going on here.

nah I think the social media generation is a pretty decent explanation of what's going on

this is a trend taht's been going on; not exclusive to college students, etiher

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/our-changing-culture/201510/are-mental-health-issues-the-rise

Interesting article. I will read it more thoroughly a little later. But I agree, our culture is changing, and the lasting impact won't be truly seen until the next few years when the generation enters the workforce.
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FLUFFYGERM posted...

this raises an interesting point. why are college students so emotionally and mentally fragile, to the point where trump being elected literally caused them to need crayons and play-doh? what is it about our education system over the last five years that has utterly destroyed the youth?

That's the question. We don't really know. Balrog provided an interesting article that looks at it from a cultural level, and may give some insight.

But our college is required to screen students for mental health disorders every year, and the last two years have been off the charts with students showing signs of both anxiety, PTSD, and depression.
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We now have administrators who humor people being triggered over miniscule things. If someone says they're suffering PTSD because they saw some random person wearing a MAGA hat then they're taken seriously instead of just being told to piss off.
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Zanzenburger posted...

FLUFFYGERM posted...

this raises an interesting point. why are college students so emotionally and mentally fragile, to the point where trump being elected literally caused them to need crayons and play-doh? what is it about our education system over the last five years that has utterly destroyed the youth?

That's the question. We don't really know. Balrog provided an interesting article that looks at it from a cultural level, and may give some insight.

But our college is required to screen students for mental health disorders every year, and the last two years have been off the charts with students showing signs of both anxiety, PTSD, and depression.

But what constitutes signs? Is it a simple question like "do you feel sad sometimes" and they say that's signs of depression?
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DifferentialEquation posted...

We now have administrators who humor people being triggered over miniscule things. If someone says they're suffering PTSD because they saw some random person wearing a MAGA hat then they're taken seriously instead of just being told to piss off.

There's really not much of a choice. The law works in such a way that if you were to ignore that student or not provide them some sort of help, you could get sued and lose millions as a university. And even if it doesn't get that far, students can (and usually do) successfully protest your removal from the institution.

For example, check this article out:

https://spoonuniversity.com/healthier/involuntary-withdrawal-policies-harm-mentally-ill-college-students

"Colleges with blanketed involuntary removal policies also might be violating federal disability laws. The Americans With Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against those with psychiatric disabilities and blanket removal policies unfairly target those with mental illnesses."

This right here could get universities in a lot of trouble. Usually the simplest route to avoid issues that can shut down the campus is to treat everyone that requests treatment. Hands are generally tied.
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I wish I understood the issue better because I feel like they're all just being babies.

But if doctors and stuff are saying they have actual mental illness, like I guess they know better, but I managed the same workload in college. Blows my mind when I see people whining about their homework and saying they need to visit a counselor.
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DelianSK posted...

But what constitutes signs? Is it a simple question like "do you feel sad sometimes" and they say that's signs of depression?

There are valid instruments we use that are provided by various nonprofit groups and organizations. Basically survey questionnaires where they answer a serious of questions and when you add up the scores you can determine what they have based on the score.
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Various mental illnesses and identities are what kids are collecting now instead of Pogs

lilORANG posted...

I wish I understood the issue better because I feel like they're all just being babies.

But if doctors and stuff are saying they have actual mental illness, like I guess they know better, but I managed the same workload in college. Blows my mind when I see people whining about their homework and saying they need to visit a counselor.

That's the thing. It would be one thing if it is just students saying that they need help. We are getting more and more doctor referrals saying that the students indeed suffer from those mental illnesses and who need the additional resources and support.

We really don't have the credentials to tell the doctors they're wrong. Not that it's our job to try, anyways.
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Put self-diagnoses at the end of the line. Treat the ones that you have to treat and say that you treated them by perceived urgency.

Zanzenburger posted...

That's the thing. It would be one thing if it is just students saying that they need help. We are getting more and more doctor referrals saying that the students indeed suffer from those mental illnesses and who need the additional resources and support.

so has this thing always been rampant or are doctors just recently learning what to look for to make these diagnoses? Because you did not hear about this stuff prior to a few years ago.

It's just so hard to relate to someone when the exact same shit millions of people handle perfectly fine drives others to suicide. Like something got fucked in their upbringing .
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lilORANG posted...

so has this thing always been rampant or are doctors just recently learning what to look for to make these diagnoses? Because you did not hear about this stuff prior to a few years ago.

It's just so hard to relate to someone when the exact same s*** millions of people handle perfectly fine drives others to suicide. Like something got f***ed in their upbringing .

Take ADD as an example. The diagnoses of ADD has multiplied in the last decade. The question often remains among education circles whether more and more students are suffering from ADD, or if the numbers have always been the same but we only now have the tools to more easily diagnose it?

Same applies here. Though I'm more prone to believe that we do have more mental health issues today than we had 20 years ago, not just that we have more tools to diagnose them. And I do believe technology has a part to play, but also the economic conditions that our students are growing up in. They're very different from 80s and 90s kids.
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Society has been coddling that generation. They're weaker, more sensitive and clashing with the world as it is.
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Rexdragon125 posted...

Various mental illnesses and identities are what kids are collecting now instead of Pogs

Who the hell collected Pogs?
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My guess is the problem is that they have basically lived with technology all their life and and social media most of their lives. People always say millennials lived with technology all their life but that is a myth. For example, in 2001, only half of America had Internet access and I bet most of that was shitty dial-up Internet. I don't know when social media became mainstream (i.e. everyone uses it, not just college aged people) but I would say it would probably have been around 2010.

Chances are growing up without experiencing the pre-Internet world effects the wiring in your brain. Also studies seem to show that many people don't know how to properly handle social media, especially teenagers.
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I think all those pharmaceutical ads are a major contributor.
Do you sometimes feel sad? You have problems. Ask your doctor about our product.
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We certainly diagnose mental illness more. I feel like more and more people are actually seeking help than trying to deal with it themselves. Mental illness has reached peak mainstream exposure.

This, and/or the fact that this incoming generation grew up during the recession. There was a constant air of negativity and pessimism during that time, and of course the direct economic impact upon families.
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weapon_d00d816 posted...

We certainly diagnose mental illness more. I feel like more and more people are actually seeking help than trying to deal with it themselves. Mental illness has reached peak mainstream exposure.

This, and/or the fact that this incoming generation grew up during the recession. There was a constant air of negativity and pessimism during that time, and of course the direct economic impact upon families.

Interesting analysis... The greatest generation grew up in the great depression and went through the worst war in the history of mankind unscathed. Next?

Just throwing things out there:

-Culture that is becoming more sensitive due to the Internet and 24/7 news cycle?
-Something in the water, food or air?
-A weird wave of questionable parenting and/or bullying?
-Overall greater awareness of issues that have already been present?
-A greater trend of diagnosing more minor issues as major issues?

It's weird. I was thinking about a group of online friends my best friend has. Most of them, ranging from early high school to post-college, have some sort of depression, PTSD, and/or anxiety, which mostly traces back, according to them, to family issues. I've had my own experiences related to some shit that happened in my first college, but I understand that many people would find such experiences traumatic and don't have the strength to just brush it off like I could (Come to think of it, I have a good family, and a good family is a key to resiliency).

Anecdotal, I know. I think my best friend, who has severe depression, just attracts similar people easily. It really doesn't help at all being one of the few sane ones among this group of friends.
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C7D posted...

unscathed

lol, no
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C7D posted...

weapon_d00d816 posted...

We certainly diagnose mental illness more. I feel like more and more people are actually seeking help than trying to deal with it themselves. Mental illness has reached peak mainstream exposure.

This, and/or the fact that this incoming generation grew up during the recession. There was a constant air of negativity and pessimism during that time, and of course the direct economic impact upon families.

Interesting analysis... The greatest generation grew up in the great depression and went through the worst war in the history of mankind unscathed. Next?

Have you seen the range of mental illness found in various senior citizens and veterans? That's a whole other beast of its own.
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Zanzenburger posted...

C7D posted...

weapon_d00d816 posted...

We certainly diagnose mental illness more. I feel like more and more people are actually seeking help than trying to deal with it themselves. Mental illness has reached peak mainstream exposure.

This, and/or the fact that this incoming generation grew up during the recession. There was a constant air of negativity and pessimism during that time, and of course the direct economic impact upon families.

Interesting analysis... The greatest generation grew up in the great depression and went through the worst war in the history of mankind unscathed. Next?

Have you seen the range of mental illness found in various senior citizens and veterans? That's a whole other beast of its own.

Yes, but their presentation is largely inconsistent with the time frame. Many of the issues seniors face today are more consistent with brain morphology and genetic misfires rather than strictly environment.

Zanzenburger posted...

I'm surprised I haven't seen this discussed more in the media

What do you mean? I have seen this all over the media last 1-2 year(s) ago. Are you not aware of the Bell Let's Talk campaigns?

C7D posted...

Yes, but their presentation is largely inconsistent with the time frame. Many of the issues seniors face today are more consistent with brain morphology rather than strictly environment.

I'm not gonna pretend to argue with you on that since I am not an expert on the subject.

What I will say is my own theory on it: could it possibly have to do with the fact that they had the issues all along but we just didn't have the technology or knowhow to diagnose them?

Afterall, prior to recent area, illness was seen as a weakness and people tried desperately to shrug it off, sleep it off, or drink it off. People hid their darkness demons for fear of social ridicule or worse, the inability to serve for those that wanted to do so.
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Hexagon posted...

Let's Talk

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I meant mental health as it specifically relates to college students on college campuses. Right now, the media is all about sexual assault on campuses, political/free speech, sjws, but there isn't really that much focus on a much more prevalent issue we are current facing. Perhaps it just hasn't caught up yet.
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Zanzenburger posted...

C7D posted...

Yes, but their presentation is largely inconsistent with the time frame. Many of the issues seniors face today are more consistent with brain morphology rather than strictly environment.

I'm not gonna pretend to argue with you on that since I am not an expert on the subject.

What I will say is my own theory on it: could it possibly have to do with the fact that they had the issues all along but we just didn't have the technology or knowhow to diagnose them?

Afterall, prior to recent area, illness was seen as a weakness and people tried desperately to shrug it off, sleep it off, or drink it off. People hid their darkness demons for fear of social ridicule or worse, the inability to serve for those that wanted to do so.

Mental illness has always been an issue. There is no question. I used to hear stories about that from relatives who "weren't right". That's all they knew to say about it at the time.

When I was in grad school, I developed new clinical diagnostic tools. We wrote a grant proposal with a neurosurgeon to NIH on attempting to find certain compounds which were consistent with Alzheimer's. We got to the final stage, but our proposal was not funded while I was a grad student.

Zanzenburger posted...

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I meant mental health as it specifically relates to college students on college campuses.

Go to google and search bell let's talk. Two of the three twitter posts I see on the front page relate to students in university. I'm also pretty sure that they had commercials dedicated to students on TV. So I'm not sure what you're looking for.

And to be fair those things you list often relate to incidences like protests and attacks so people are concerned about their frequency and if they will be affected. Mental health is not really comparable to that.