Mental Illness: The Effects Of Stress On High School Students

In the United States only 50% of public school students receive any education on mental health issues prior to college. Yet, the years between middle school and college have the highest percentage of United States youth suffering from mental illnesses. Of college students who were surveyed across the country, 50% reported their mental health as being below average or poor, and 30% reported problems with schoolwork due to mental health issues.

Mental disorders are as common among college students as same-aged non-students, and these disorders seem to be growing in amount and severity. It is not unusual for undergraduate students to experience varying levels of anxiety, depression, and stress during their matriculation; some college students experience academic stressors as well as non-academic stressors. Non-academic stressors could include seemingly obvious issues like moving away from family for the first time or some issues that may be harder to recognize like private health concerns. Dr. Richard Kadison, chief of mental health services at Harvard University and author of “College of the Overwhelmed” reported that almost 50% of college students are likely to suffer some degree of

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.

“Nearly 5 million children in the U.S. have some type of mental illness” (Goldberg). It is agreeable that there are many young children that deal with mental illness every day. Schools should be concerned for every student’s well being. Moreover, mental health is a part of a person’s overall “well being.” Therefore, schools need to make the mental health of students a stronger focus and implement plans to keep students mentally well and educated. To help create a positive, mental health aware environment where students feel open to seek help, high school students should be educated on how to be mentally healthy, be given a safe place to seek help, and be encouraged to monitor and maintain their mental health. Mental illness and mental health care need to be a more eminent priority in our society, starting with high schools.

One of the biggest problems among students within post-secondary are the struggling issues of mental health such as depression, anxiety or stress which leads to the failure of adequate nutrition. The age of when mental disorders are clear to one’s self is between the age of 18 to 24 as this is the age of many adolescents are going into higher education (Kessler et al., 2005) . University students who struggle with depression and anxiety majority of the time is caused by the academic stress of being a leading cause of their mental health. As a survey was conducted by campus counselors, many found an outstanding factor of parental pressure for high grades from their child causing many students stress, depression and anxiety which elevates expectations within the student (Watkins et al. 2001, p. 322). These high rates are due to the feeling of being badgered to achieve high grades and maintain their grades while balancing their social life.

With over 2600 students in grades 9-12, and a caseload of 400+, maintaining and developing socially, emotionally, and balanced students can be a challenge when student abilities do not always match the expectations of stakeholders. Though my school is diverse, socioeconomic status is a contributing factor when it comes to expectations, college admittance, and overall student success. Socioeconomic status increases stress because parents expect their child to get into a top university, and many are not open to a community college, even if that is what would be best for the student. For these reasons, I have identified stress and anxiety as the identified critical need. Of last year’s graduating class, 92% attended a college or university, with 63% of those attending a four-year institution. In addition, our school administered over 550 Advanced Placement (AP) exams to 10th–12th

It is because of these obligations that many students develop stress related disorders such as anxiety or depression. Current research supports the need for a program such as Fit for 15. Shearer, Hunt, Chowdhury, & Nicol (2016) of the University of Pennsylvania researched and studied the effects of being mindful of stressors on college students. College students undergo a high level of stress, and if it is not properly managed, an individual can have more serious mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, or emotional coping outlets (Shearer, Hunt, Chowdhury, & Nicol, 2016). Effects of depression and anxiety onset by stress can be detrimental to a student’s performance. It is associated with an increase in absenteeism, school failure, substance abuse, and suicide (Hysenbegasi,

The novel “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” by Ned Vizzini says a lot about adolescent mental illness and how teenagers cope with stress. The main character, Craig Gilner, is a freshman in the Executive Pre-Professional High School, the most prestigious school in his area. He studied for weeks to pass the test to get in, but once he succeeded he felt overwhelmed by school work and anxiety until he stopped eating, started doing drugs, and eventually admitted himself into a mental health ward for suicidal thoughts. Of course, I’ve never experienced that kind of severe depression or been in a mental ward, but I could easily relate to Craig as a teenager with my fair share of school-related stress. Craig shared a lot of qualities with me, like his ambition, social life, and many aspects of his personality.

Doctor Constance Scharff pens an article discussing suicide on college campuses and the overwhelmed mental health system that is responsible for monitoring the students’ needs (Scharff, 2015). The article mentions that college aged students more frequently receive mental health services as youth to be able to handle the college stressors in the future. This trend the facilities are ill equipped to deal with the more complicated mental health issues like suicide. Unlike other articles reporting on suicide, this article promotes positive ways to deal with the stressors instead of blaming the system for the rise in deaths or problems.

Mental health is a serious topic that is often not taken seriously. Due to my own struggles with depression, I have experienced the impact mental illness can have on a student’s life. Mental illness can make everyday life feel unbearable and can have just as serious of an effect on a person as a physical illness. The causes of increasing mental health problems in college students are numerous, and it will take work from both students and universities to overcome this problem, but change is necessary for the health of U.S. college students.

Children and adolescents in the United States face different psychological challenges, such as anxiety disorders, depression, attention deficit disorder, as well as many other psychiatric diagnoses (Bloom, Dey, & Freeman, 2006). The prevalence rate of children diagnosed with a mental disorder is alarming. According to Merikangas et al. (2010), 22.2% of American children and adolescents get diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder that is severe enough to impair their ability to attend school and learn (Bucci, Marques, Oh, & Harris, 2016). Kids that are plagued by various psychological illnesses may experience a difficult time concentrating and staying focused in school. Additionally, the over-accumulation of toxic stress, either due to the pressures of schools or environmental (i.e., difficult exams, poverty, household dysfunction, etc.), can have negative and detrimental effects during childhood, as well as adulthood (Bucci et al., 2016).

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.

Depression and anxiety among college students is something that experts have focused on for the past twenty years. The information they have been gathering ranges from the different stressors of college life to the effects of one's culture on how they deal with depression or anxiety symptoms. They have identified a few core characteristics of depression and thoughts of suicide. These are both serious concepts in which people need to seek help for. It is important for students to reach out to friends, family, or professionals to support them during this time. Many campuses offer counseling centers which are seeing many more people over the past few years.

Campus mental health statistics paint an alarming picture of the incidence of suicide rates on college campuses and by some measures they are getting worse. Almost one in three students have admitted to considering suicide. Mental health needs on campus are real and serious, they are also growing, which is

A substantial amount of Canadians experience stress in their lives. In fact, nearly one-quarter of the population over the age of 15 are stressed on a daily basis (Statistics Canada, 2013). Stress can be defined as a mental and emotional state of tension, in which one perceives the environment around them to be strenuous and overwhelming. Although some stress is necessary for survival, it can adversely affect both the physical and mental health. Its detrimental effects include but are not limited to: lack of confidence, concentration, motivation, decision making and increased heartrate, sweating, tension, as well as other physical and psychological problems such as headaches and insomnia (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2015). These health complications strongly emphasize the need for further research in ways to cope with, and reduce stress. Henceforth, the purpose of this paper is to use established research to better understand stress, then propose my own study that would investigate another stress-reduction method.