Mental Health Problems And Treatment Among College Students Essay

As Americans it becomes natural to undermine those with a mental illness. As a fact, many adults and children deal with mental illness each and everyday. There are many stories that have been told to Americans about depression, anxiety, along with bipolar disorders, with the outcome usually being a negative consequence. For the 1 in every 5 citizens that deal with a mental illness each year. Americans have neglected the fact that many adults and children deal with mental issue(s), the citizens that refrain from getting help; their well being can suffer detrimental effects, there is not a lot of awareness either taught in school, or in public perspectives, American’s stigma has perfected their

The following essay will begin by demonstrating what is understood by the concept of mental health. It will attempt to identify different explanations for the underlying issues causing mental illnesses and it will then centre around a case study focusing specifically on one mental health problem. A description of what the causes and effects of the chosen illness will be given and information on the available treatment will be presented. To round up the assignment a brief explanation of the chosen case study will be included with an attempt to distinguish the common issues identified and how they relate to the literature information provided throughout. In this assignment, the case study chosen will target depression.

Mental health among college students has been proven to be a relevant social issue that our society faces. There are certainly a few different institutions that play a large role within the development of this social issue. The first institution, and the primary institution at play with this issue, is the higher education system. In terms of mental health and having access to resources, college students haven’t always been as lucky as they are today. One study in 2007 explains the story of Junior at Syracuse University (Kravets, 3081). Anita Rutman had a history of mental health issues; she even found herself being admitted to a mental health hospital. One morning in February, she threw herself off of the eighth floor of Boland Hall and landed on a patio and fortunately lived. However, her attempt stemmed from the university sending her letter three days prior that informed Anita that the school was planning to dismiss her because of her suicidal tendencies (Kravets, 3081). Anita later sued Syracuse for ten million dollars for malpractice and negligence in handling her condition.

It not easy to determine how many people suffer from mental illness. This is due to the changing definitions of mental illness and problems classifying, diagnosing, and reporting mental disorders. There are social stigmas attached to mental illness, such as being labeled "crazy," being treated as a danger to others, and being denied jobs or health insurance coverage. These negative connotations keep many sufferers from seeking help, and many of those in treatment do not reveal it on surveys. Some patients do not realize that their symptoms are caused by mental disorders. Even though more is being learned about how the brain works a lot of information has still yet to be discovered, thus mental health professionals must continually reevaluate how mental illnesses are defined and diagnosed. The Surgeon General 's report estimated that roughly 20% of the United States population was affected by mental disorders and that 15% use some type of mental health service every year. Community surveys estimate about 30% of the adult population in the United States suffer from mental disorders.

“Come find me when you decide to not have a broken arm.” “You don’t look like you have a terminal disease. You’re just saying that to get attention.” “Can’t you just try to not get sick?” Nobody would actually say these horrible things to someone with a physical disease, and yet we find it okay to say it to someone with a mental disease. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) every year, about 42.5 million American adults which is about 18.2% of the total adult population in the United States suffer from mental illness. 56% of these people never did not receive treatment for their mental illness, and suffered

Comprehensive Mental Health Services (CMHS) is an organization in Kansas City, Missouri dedicated to serving those with mental illnesses, ranging from both low- to high-functioning. This group has a for-profit and non-profit side. The for-profit side utilizes doctors, nurses, and a pharmacy to aide in the non-profit side. Case workers, therapists, addiction recovery, and group homes are all funded via the organization. With diverse staff involvement, CMHS has a multitude of positions ranging from full-time salary doctors, to full-time hourly case workers, to volunteers. Volunteers vary between other organizations that CMHS collaborates with, including Harvester’s food pantry, and even patients who want to donate their time to some of the less-fortunate. While those with mental illnesses are oppressed, this report is not about their oppression, rather their open-mindedness on the oppression of those around them.

I consider myself lucky, lucky that I was able to get help before it was too late. But most times in America the ones that need help the most are afraid to get it, and we don’t know who they are. It could be your frail, quiet, precise mailman, a constantly changing, moody friend, your very own nervous anxious boss, the rather aggravated stranger you pass by on the way to work, maybe even the familiar figure looking back at you in the mirror. But we don’t know, and probably never will because of the stigma that is placed on mental illness. Nearly 25% of America’s population deals with mental illness, and frankly, America is not helping them.

Consequently, this stigma has become one of the major contributing factors that stop individuals from reaching out and seeking treatment. As mentioned by Henderson (2013), more than 70% of individuals worldwide do not receive treatment for their mental illness. The high rate of unreported mental illnesses therefore leads to an inaccurate representation of mental illness prevalent within society. Individuals are afraid to speak out and seek help for their illness due to the fear of being rejected and labeled by others. The stereotypes of a diagnosed individual represent the collectively agreed upon notions that the mentally ill can never return to a once regular lifestyle (Corrigan & Watson, 2002). With the avoidance of individuals accepting

“Colleges provide a unique opportunity to identify, prevent, or treat mental disorders because campuses often encompass students’ residences, social networks, and many services,” writes Linda Cook. Often, if a student is struggling, campus resources are the first place they turn. Whether a student turns to a professor, campus clinic staff member, or resident assistant, the hope is that they will be met with compassion. Colleges and universities should require their staff and students to be well-informed about common mental illnesses that often emerge in the college years. Awareness of signs and symptoms, available treatments and resources, and proper ways to intervene can help fight the mental health crisis. Yet many colleges still improperly

Students and colleges need to work to break the stigma and spread awareness so that those struggling with mental health problems can get help as soon as they feel their mental health declining and it does not have to get to a point where they feel they cannot handle life. Most colleges have student health services which offer counseling and other help for struggling students but, those students either do not know these services exist or they are too embarrassed to take advantage of

Senator Creigh Deeds story is just one of many that end in tragedy because of a mental health system that has failed. While the major proportion of people living with mental illness are not violent, they can become a victim of violence. According to the latest statistics from the American Psychological Association one in five adults has a diagnosable mental disorder, one in twenty-four has a serious mental disorder (SMI), and people with mental illness are no more likely to be violent that people without mental illness (Association, American Psychiatric, 2016). Untreated mental health care is characteristic of the violent crimes that we see happening today. Some of the reasons behind these untreated individuals are the unmet needs of people not having a financial means to pay for services, lack of insurance, knowledge about how to access care, embarrassment about having the need for services, and those that needed care but experienced delays in accessing care (Jones et al., 2014).

Graduation rates would increase due to free tuition as students would not have to balance work, school and would just to be able to continue their education. Students also would not have as much stress on them since they do not have to work for their education.

In today’s society, people with mental health problems are belittled by those who either choose to ignore their conditions or fail to understand them. Individuals with mental health issues constantly ask themselves: Am I crazy? For many, this question is solely based on the reality that the people around them are frequently ridiculing their behavior. Disregarding a significant problem someone has makes it worse by depreciating mental health patients instead of getting them the help they need. If those with mental health disorders are constantly being told their thoughts are irrational, they likely won’t seek out support. Mental health care is already at a shortage due to a very small amount of doctors

Despite being featured in the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for a multitude of mental health disorders and manifesting in several others (Moeller et al, 2001), the definition of impulsivity itself lacks clarity. Confusion derives from dispute about the measures of impulsivity and definition, however there are specific traits which are associated with impulsivity in humans. These traits encompass impetuous decisions, risk-taking (Eysenck, 1978) and crucial to this essay; impulsivity. Components of impulsivity include delay discounting (a preference for a smaller immediate reward), response inhibition (failure to inhibit responses) and, more recently, lapses in attention (de Wit, 2008). In relation to executive functioning, impulsivity plays a key role as it relates to self-control, which is regulates importance/drive to certain stimuli (Volkow et al., 2008). As an element of impulsivity, self-control failure is associated with addiction, defined in the DSM-IV (in alcoholism) as drinking more alcohol than intended, inability to reduce intake and social relationship dysfunction. In addicted individuals, the control is minimized compared to healthy controls. Exploration of the question of impulsivity being a cause or consequence is necessary, with promising development in treatment resting on the answer.

Anxiety and Depression disorders are two of the most common mental disorders in the United States (Falsafi, 2016). It appears that the two disorders are widespread amongst college students and most cannot manage the high demands and stress (Falsafi, 2016). Therefore, they feel more prone to depression and anxiety (Falsafi, 2016). According to the authors Miller & Chung, mental health amongst college students in the United States is a growing public health concern and educators are concerned about the low academic performance of college students and how it influences their mental health (Miller, & Chung, 2009). Research indicates that university students suffer with low grades and poor academic performances, while trying to manage depression and anxiety (Falsafi, 2016). With the consistence of higher drop out rates, it is imperative that colleges and universities create programs that assist students with managing their depression and anxiety to help them through their education.