College Success: Keeping Up with Mental Health

 

In many ways, the time spent seeking an education at a college or university can be some of the best years of a person’s life.

College students are usually just entering adulthood¹. Their academic programs present them with all kinds of new information and ideas. And even given the many demands on their time from their studies, the students often have the freedom to explore their identities² and other outside interests.

But a person’s college years can also present difficulties. Sometimes, the challenges of academic success, making new friends and living far from home may feel like more than one person can deal with alone.

In fact, more and more college students in the United States have reported suffering from anxiety and depression, says Monica Osburn. She heads the Counseling³ Center and Prevention Services at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Osburn says it is important for students to have access to mental health services on campus⁴. Off-campus options are likely too costly⁵ and difficult to get to for many students.

Research shows that having access to mental health services can help prevent students from dropping out of college, Osburn adds. Such services can make students feel more like their school really cares about them.

Osburn believes it is a good sign that more students are seeking mental health services. That means more of them are trying to find solutions to difficulties or problems they are facing.

“Half the battle, sometimes, is walking through the door, because there can be a lot of stigma⁶ with asking for help or receiving mental health counseling, especially if you are an international student who may not have counseling services at home,” Osburn told VOA. “So being able to come in, ask questions, see what the office looks like, will go a long way in breaking down some of those barriers.”

College students may struggle with many kinds of unhealthy behaviors. For example, they often ignore their need for sleep because they want to spend time with their friends. Or they might stay up all night to study for a big test.

One night of poor sleep may not be a major issue, Osburn says. But if it happens again and again, a student’s mental health may suffer. The worst part, Osburn says, is that many students may not even recognize what they are experiencing as a mental health problem.

“A lot of students don’t think about mental health and the outcomes⁷ there,” said Osburn. “Their symptoms might look more like physical symptoms, like being physically⁸ sick … when many of those could be symptoms of anxiety.”

Osburn urges any student who is facing problems or experiencing feelings they do not understand to visit their school’s counseling center. These centers employ trained mental health experts who will discuss these issues privately⁹ with the student.

Once a student meets with one of these experts, they can start to explore the things they are dealing¹⁰ with and what they might want from counseling. This can include general skills to deal with common problems or just talking through a given issue.

From there, students can plan ongoing¹¹ individual meetings with a mental health expert. Or, the expert can connect the student with groups of students having similar problems, says Osburn. Campus counseling can sometimes even help students find the support they need elsewhere¹².

“Not every student needs therapy¹³,” she said. “But if a student comes in … and we know they’re struggling … it might be related¹⁴ to food insecurity or some sort of financial issue ... Since we know the resources on campus so well, then we can connect that student with those resources, teach them … how to work through those new systems … and then problem-solve.”

I’m Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

academic – adj. of or relating to schools and education

challenge(s) – n. a difficult task or problem

anxiety – n. fear or nervousness about what might happen

campus – n. the area and buildings around a university, college, or school

option(s) – n. a choice or possibility

stigma – n. a set of critical and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something

counseling – n. advice and support that is given to people to help them deal with problems or make important decisions

outcome(s) – n. something that happens as a result of an activity or process

symptom(s) – n. a change in the body or mind which indicates that a disease¹⁵ is present

therapy – n. the treatment of physical or mental illnesses

1 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

2 identities   

身份( identity的名词复数 )； 同一性； 个性； 同一人

参考例句：

• Please note the identities in the two cases. 请注意这两个案子的相同之处。
• The planners decided to preserve their distinct identities. 设计者们决定保留他们各自的特色。

3 counseling   

n.咨询服务

参考例句：

• A multimillionaire media magnate has shocked his employees with his candor by telling them all that he's putting his business affairs on hold to enter an alcoholism-counseling program. 一位身份数百万的媒体大亨，坦诚地告诉他全体员工他将暂时搁置他的事业以便参加戒酒班，令员工大为惊愕。
• She will need medical help and counseling to overcome the tragedy. 她将需要医疗帮助和心理咨询来平复这场悲剧。

4 campus   

n.大学校园，学校校园；大学　

参考例句：

• They spoke of the old days on the campus.他们谈起昔日的校园生活。
• The campus covers an area of twenty square kilometres.这个校园占地二十平方公里。

5 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

6 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

7 outcomes   

结果( outcome的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The two scenarios provide illustrations of consistent set of outcomes for range of possible policies. 这两个方案说明某一套可能采取的政策将会产生的一系列后果。
• We analyzed all the possible outcomes of your mission, Commander. 我们分析过所有可能的结果，指挥官。

8 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

9 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

10 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

11 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

12 elsewhere   

adv.在别处，到别处

参考例句：

• Our favourite restaurant was full so we had to go elsewhere.我们最喜欢去的那家饭店客满了，因此不得不改去别处。
• I have half a mind to move elsewhere.我有点想搬到别处去。

13 therapy   

n.治疗；疗法

参考例句：

• The doctor said she should be given a physical therapy.医生说她应该进行理疗。
• She will need to have the therapy repeated every few months.她将需要每隔几个月就进行一次治疗。

14 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

15 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。