Sarah Spitz: The Effects Of Mental Illness On College Students

The top 4 mental health issues facing college students are depression, anxiety, suicide, and eating disorders. Depression is a huge problem with college students mainly because depression is linked to and leads to suicide. If one and three college students are depressed that's 33% of students who are on a pathway to suicide. Anxiety is one of the main problems because

The effects of self-stigma can lead to a lack of self esteem, lack of confidence, isolation and the increased likelihood of avoiding professional help for their illness. This then has an over all affect on quality of life and where one sees themselves fitting within society (Barney, Griffiths, Jorm & Christensen, 2005; Griffiths & Christensen, 2004; Newell & Gournay, 2000).

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.

Teachers and staff will be trained to tell the if a student is experiencing symptoms of any type of mental health disorder. For example, if a student is having irregular mood swings or a fluctuation in weight, which are common symptoms of anxiety and depression. In the article, “Why Schools Should Screen Their Students' Mental Health”, it says,“If we made mental health part of the usual health system of a school, then it becomes more normal…”. If a student sees a positive outlook on mental health they would be opened to getting help. On some media platforms, mental health is portrayed as something to be ashamed of or a evil quality to posses. Mental health isn’t evil, it’s how the person deals with it that's important. Yes, if not treated it can cause negative effects but with the help from the community these children can live relatively normal lives. Children and adults struggle to comprehend the severity of mental illness, which causes them to avoid any form of treatment. In the future, mental health should become a thing not to be ashamed of. A person who broke a bone would go to the hospital right away, not wait for it to heal on its own. If you wouldn’t wait for a physical injury, why would you wait for

Self-pity and pessimistic attitudes remain a topic of discussion with a mentally ill patient, however the more valuable picture revolves around the stigma that the public holds towards those with a mental illness. Unrun Ozer, member of International Committee of National Journal Editors, acknowledges that, “Stigmatization is described as attributing someone in a way that would decrease the person’s reputation because the individual strays away from the general norms of the society” ( 225). Ozer clarifies that a stigma is an unfavorable viewpoint that society has on someone that is perceived as different. Those with a mental illness are susceptible to vulnerability because they are at a small disadvantage than the normal person. Negative connotations, such as adverse viewpoints and perplexing labels, affect the care and treatment process of those suffering because their compliance to treatment decreases. Society is too quick to judge and be ignorant if someone isn’t in perfect form, and Ozer reports, “ It has been reported that individuals with mental illnesses are seen by the society as dangerous, frightening, unstable, irresponsible, unpredictable, and having communication problems” (Ozer 225). Ozer declares that these labels are degrading to an individual with a mental illness, and cause feelings of introversion, decreased self-confidence, worthlessness, shame and despair. If we want happiness to be achievable for all, then criticizing individuals is a step in the wrong

According to NAMI, The National Alliance of Mental Illness 1 in 5 adults experience a mental health condition yearly. 1 in 20 people live with a serious mental illness like, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Not only does the person who is directly experiencing a mental illness suffer, but the family, and friends are also highly affected. NAMI states that 50% of mental health conditions begin by age 14 and 75% of mental illnesses develop by age 24. Each year, 1 in 5 children from the ages 13-18 experiences a mental illness reported by NAMI. That’s a large amount of our young generation. Three out of four people with a mental illness report that they have experienced stigma, a mark of disgrace that sets a person apart according to the

Some people feel that when diagnosed with a mental illness they are being labelled into a category they are seen as mentally ill instead of them having a mental illness unfortunately there are so many negative stereotypes which are pinned with mental illness, according to the labelling theory it’s the thought of a person being labelled mentally ill which can cause you to be ill mentally as a result of its effects described as a self-fulfilling prophecy according to a modified version of this theory. There are assumptions about the negative impact on self-concept, this impact is described in later research about stigma and self-stigma, stigma can have some negative results for self-concept by lowing self-efficacy which can make impaired coping

Stigma has been said to be “a feeling of being negatively differentiated owing to a particular condition, group membership or state in life”(Arboleda-Florez & Stuart, 2012, p. 458). There are typically two types of mental illness stigma that are discussed. Public stigma, also known as societal stigma, is the stigma associated with the prejudicial attitudes the public holds towards those people who suffer from mental illness (Arboleda-Florez & Stuart, 2012; Corrigan, Markowitz, Watson, Rowan & Kubiak, 2003). Self-stigma, also known as internalized stigma, is the loss of self-esteem, withdrawal, and personal shame that some with mental illness will experience. Self-stigma is usually developed when those who suffer from mental illness associate the negative stereotypes the public holds with themselves (Chronister, Chou, & Lieo, 2013; Corrigan et al., 2003).

And when you combine college and mental illness, it equals a very difficult time for the people affected by it. This is an issue that crosses all lines of discrimination, such as age, race and gender. It affects thousands, and most people know someone who suffers from mental illness, whether they know about it or not. Mental Health is an important aspect

individuals “lacking markers of social identity” creates the perception that individuals with mental illness are inferior, and not important. This could create a public view that mental ill individuals are failures. Additionally, mentally ill individuals may come to acquire these self-defeating views over time. This could create a “self-fulfilling prophecy”, in which those with a mental illness think they are supposed to be a failure, and thus give up on themselves and their goals. Research conducted by Wilson et al.

During a mental health event the First Lady, Michelle Obama said, “At the root of this dilemma is the way we view mental health in this country. [...] Whether an illness affects your heart, your leg or your brain, it’s still an illness, and there should be no distinction.” This shows that mental illness stigma in society is based on mental illness being perceived more negatively than other physical illness when it should actually be seen as the same. Stigma around mental illness has had very immense adverse effects on the willingness of undiagnosed suffers to not seek treatment when they need it. As a result of this one in five people with a mental illness will not get the treatment they need which has the effect of high suicide rates among the untreated sufferers. In an effort to reduce stigma around mental illness, so that more undiagnosed sufferers seek treatment, schools should devote more time to increasing awareness of mental illness and its effects.

According to Self-Stigma in People with Mental Illness, self-stigma is when one disguises mental illness and has low self-worth. Alternatively, one may respond to this stigma positively (high self-worth), or apathetically about the stigma. Labeling theory would suggest that one would have subconscious stereotypes before ever being considered mentally ill. Some of these stereotypes are that one suffering with mental illness is uneducated, unsafe to be around, and is choosing to have their disease. At the beginning of struggling with an illness, preconceived notions shape how one is affected by the illness. This results in failures like dropping out of school, being fired, decreased socialization and a lowered chance of seeking help. This further

   Today a college education can overload students with too many stressful situations. Not only does Stress overload today's college students, but it is also the leading cause of personality disorders. In her essay, Cathy Bell explains that major depressive disorder strikes 5-12% of men and 10-20% of women; half of these people will have more than one occurrence and 15% of them will commit suicide ("Depression for the young"). For instance, many depressives are first recognized and treated during their years in college. For a large amount of people, depression exposes itself because of traumatizing experiences, such as leaving home and/or academic stress. For other students alcohol and drugs become a

self-devaluation .Therefore, people who have a mental illness are told to accept deviant identities based on the perspectives of others. The social identity promotes shame and diminish self-esteem and promotes social isolation. The origin of shame is followed by having a superego that produces fear by identifying ourselves to be better than other people. Therefore, superiority causes fear because an individual would look at the person who has power to be superior to them. This will cause shame because the person would be conscious of himself and his actions. The person would define themselves to be inferior. Also, being labeled by their mental illness prevents interventions that can improve performance and medical issues. Being labeled as a person who has a mental illness can produce traumatic events that effects on how they behave and interact.

students today - mental problems. As I looked around campus, as well as amongst my friends,