Quite a number of college students suffer from serious mental conditions. This makes college life difficult amid assignment deadlines and the need to prepare for exams. According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), one in five college students have a mental condition they’re battling. This is an alarming statistic because it shows just how mental awareness movements are important in today’s generation.
This is also why students need homework help and other academic assistance providers to help them cope on tough days. Here are the top ten mental health challenges that college students face.
- Addiction
This is the most common challenge for college students because it begins as a joke. Addiction drugs and alcohol is quite problematic because in results in impaired judgement. Note that drug and alcohol use is only termed as an addiction once the person in question begins to use in excess, without much regard to the negative impacts they face.
An addicted person will try to stop using in excess but fail because it’s gotten to a point their body is dependent on the substances they’re using.
2. Adjustment Disorder
This is a condition that messes up with a student’s ability to be themselves. Adjusting to a new environment can be hard especially for college students who’ve been studying in the same school for years.
It’s even worse considering that parents can no longer be as available as they used to in high school. Spending most of one’s time away from everything that’s familiar is hard on anyone actually.
3. Anxiety
Anxiety can be triggered by a wide variety of events because it’s the anticipation of future events. Anxiety is worse when student anticipates a negative outcome.
Even though anxiety is common among all students, it becomes a problem when it takes over a student’s life. Anxiety can be so bad that it paralyzes you completely.
4. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
ADHD is a complex mental condition where students have a hard time maintain focus. For most people, the condition is usually diagnosed long before they join college. In which case a student would already have medication. Following the doctor’s prescription helps students manage symptoms and try to lean a normal college life.
5. Bipolar
This is a complicated mental health condition that not many understand. Many students that have been diagnosed with bipolar struggle with stigmatization because there’s not enough information out there.
Learning institutions should educate the student body about bipolar so they have information to take care of each other. Every student with bipolar should know that their symptoms are treatable.
6. Depression
If it isn’t the elephant in the room! Depression didn’t used to be so common among college students, but now, so many students struggle with it. This is a very serious mental illness that makes it hard for students to function in a school setup. Students with depression have high levels of stress that take over their lives.
7. Eating Disorders
This might seem like a simple condition but it really is serious. According to The National Eating Disorder association, this is an emotional condition. These are college students who’re just getting used to a new environment. Anorexia and Bulimia are the most common eating disorders.
8. Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder
Panic attacks are ugly because they happen from nowhere, without warning. Suffering through a panic attack makes one feel like they’re about to go crazy. It’s a rough experience that’s both frightening and humiliating.
When you have your first panic attack, you hope you don’t have such an experience again because no one wants to feel like they’re about to die without knowing why.
9. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Once you go through a traumatic event in your life, you’re likely to experience PTSD. Traumatic experiences tend to disrupt our lives and things never seem to be the same after that. It might be immediate or take time before you begin experiencing symptoms.
10. Sleep Disorder
Having a sleeping disorder is so bad because it means you can’t get the night’s sleep your body and mind so badly needs. Many end up with a sleep disorder because they don’t maintain a routine sleeping pattern. Even though college life is so busy, students should try as much as they can to get enough sleep.
Conclusion
Every college student with a mental illness should work towards managing their symptoms. Taking the appropriate medication and seeking advice from the school counselor helps you lead a fulfilling college life.