Mental health is always the elephant in the room with many college students. In the beginning of the school year, especially for freshman, adjusting initially to a different environment, new expectations of being on their own and coping with classes and homework as well as making friendships is difficult. This is usually the case for every freshman. The daily pressure of classes, homework, getting food, doing the laundry, social life, and sometimes even a job can create a stressful environment. It takes time to settle into a rhythm.
Are More College Students Experiencing a Mental Health Crisis?
I especially see depression and anxiety peak after being home for a break- be it fall, winter, or spring. Home is a safety net for most students. Good food, little expectations to get things done, and being in a comforting environment makes students feel safe and protected. Coming back to school is difficult as the pressure begins immediately. Every one of my students says the same thing–“I wish I were still home. I don’t want to go to classes and start doing homework again.”
Even those with positive friendships and good grades say the same. It’s an ongoing transition going from home back to school.
This also occurs with my students that have gone abroad for the semester. It seems that this would be an amazing experience and there are parts of this that are just that. However, being in a new environment, often not knowing anyone, with different expectations in classes, combined with being far from home, has caused every one of my students extra stress. Each one cannot wait to go back home, no matter how wonderful the country has been to get to know, or how many great traveling experiences they have had over the semester.
I have seen more and more of this since the Covid lockdown, as well as the mass shootings that have occurred in supposedly “safe spaces.” It’s as if a switch was turned on that had been off before this time. Leaving the “safety” of home for college has always been a difficult transition for students, but it appears that now this time of life has created more mental health issues than it did in the past. It is difficult for me to watch my students during a time of life that should be exciting and something to look forward to, become a time of stress in order to get through to the other side, sometime in the anticipated future.