Staying Mentally Fit In College
Life changes in a big way as you enter into the realm of college where there is increased financial and academic pressure, coupled with a changing social environment very different from what many experience in high school. While these changes are exciting and often lead to a healthier and more balanced life, it does bring with it lots of new stressors. It’s no secret that mental health risks for college students increase dramatically with these new challenges. This article will discuss the mental health risks in college students and 15 strategies to stay on top of your mental health in college. This article is for college students and their families alike.
The Best of Times… The Worst of Times
College is one of those rights of passage for young people entering early adulthood and with it, comes a variety of mixed feelings. Some students dread it, as letting go of parents taking care of everything and taking on more responsibility can be scary, and high school life was safe and predictable, maybe even enjoyable. Other students embrace it, finally having some freedom and independence. And then there are students who fall somewhere in the middle, looking forward to a new chapter in life but a little nervous about the social scene, worrying about how to be successful in this new environment. Without a doubt, college is a marker in life, a step closer to the adult world where you have more choices and freedoms, but with it, additional stress.
However, on the flip side, there will be more variety and more options that can lend itself to something better than the same old same old that you endured in a smaller friend group that was at times stifling and limiting. But all of this comes with lots and lots of change, and change, even good change, is really hard! Needless to say the COVID year has also added to those many challenges and added to feelings of being robbed of a normal college experience which adds to the stress, worry and sometimes depression in college.
Mental Health Risks for College Students
We know that college presents as a time of increased stress and worry. Additionally, the typical college-age being 18-22 years old is a time when we can see mental health concerns emerge if they have not already. This is not to say that you can’t develop a mental health disorder at a later age however, lifetime struggles with a psychiatric disorder most typically occur before age 24. This makes it all the more important for college campuses and families as well as college students to make sure that they are taking care of their mental health and mindful of the riskier living environment they may find themselves in or tempted by. Drug and alcohol use are contributors to those risks and those who may be susceptible to a mental health crisis, will have an increased risk of psychiatric disorder onset.
There are varying reports and statistics about the prevalence of depression and anxiety in college students, anywhere from 36% to 50% of students meet the criteria for a diagnosis of depression or anxiety. In one report, it was stated that over 85% of students felt that their mental health negatively impacted their college experience in the last 12 months, specifically stating that they felt overwhelmed by their responsibilities. A statistic that is something to pay attention to.
The following tips and strategies are just a few of the ways you can protect yourself and help yourself from some of the avoidable stressors that contribute to deteriorating mental health in college students. Granted there will be other things that will not be avoidable and over which you won’t have control, why not work to manage that which you can control?!
Get On Top Of Your Mental Health With These 15 Things
- Create a schedule – You will have your class schedule, yes, but it is likely to be a bit more scattered as you make the switch from high school life to college life, with classes at different times, even into the evening and time off in between classes. Taking a proactive approach to keep yourself organized will greatly reduce stress and anxiety. There is nothing worse than knowing you have a lot to do and keep up with, but not knowing exactly what that is. Budgeting your time so that you have adequate time for studying, possibly a part-time job, working out, sports, as well as social time, can be really helpful. And for those college students who have a year or two under their belt, there is the likelihood that you will have expectations to be off-campus for internships and field placements. This can all be a lot to juggle and in my years of working with both high school and college students, this is an area where I have seen many struggle. Suffice it to say that if you plan it, it will get done and you will decrease your anxiety in amazing amounts!
- Stay organized – This is a continuation of the first strategy, part of being organized is having a schedule, but then in addition to that you will have lots of class assignments, readings, and projects for which you will need to keep track of due dates as well as the expectations of the assignments. This truly can get overwhelming when you are juggling 5 classes in addition to the many other demands on your time. Most colleges are adept at using a class management system like Blackboard or Canvas, some systems are better than others but whatever the system is get used to it and learn to like it. If this is not your preferred management system, it will certainly be a resource and help you stay organized.
- Pace yourself with your classes – I have seen this time and time again, college students taking on way too much, sometimes adding several additional classes to their schedule, and then finding themselves in a rut with the amount of work that they have to do. College is a precious time in your life and granted everyone has different college circumstances, but if you can, don’t rush it. Enjoy college, find the sweet spot between hard work and time to play, and enjoy life, these will likely be the last four years where you won’t feel that you are living for the weekends and a slave to the 9-5 schedule (ok, yes a little dramatic, but this is a true comment I heard when I was a college student and remember to this day!). Furthermore, developing these good habits now, will help you later on when you are out in the workforce full time and managing work life, family life, and everything in between.
- Remember there is a time and a place – I encourage you to have fun and enjoy college but don’t lose sight of why you are there and that if you do #1 and #2 well, you will have time for all of the things you want to do and all of the things you have to do. There will be a time to socialize and hang out, there will also be time to study and put in the work to be successful in your classes and they don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Study time can be a variation on social time when doing it with friends or making a group decision to study during a certain time in one of the lounges or cafes on campus.
- Go out with friends and enjoy the college experience – As the saying goes, “all work and no play makes [you] a dull person”. A healthy life is a balanced life, it will not serve you in the long run to only focus on classes, this strategy reminder coincides with #3. College will come and go, quicker than you can ever imagine, make the most of it and work towards balance with all of these strategies, this will definitely contribute to better mental health in college student life.
- Get Involved – I have talked about the benefits of getting involved in your community before and how it can decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety. College is a great time to volunteer and do some good for others around you. There are likely many organizations that partner with your college or university and it could also provide another way to connect with other students which could be especially helpful for those students who have some social anxiety and worry about how they will make friends. Volunteering is a great way to grow your connections to your college and beyond.
- Stay Active – Maintain a regular routine around activity. This might not be something you have to work hard to do, as many college campuses are spread out and will require some good walking to get from building to building. If you can get a bike and that will help facilitate accessibility more easily, even better, maybe this could be a good way to build in a little extra activity instead of taking the bus or other public transportation. Regular, outdoor activity is one of the highly recommended ways to beat depression and anxiety and it doesn’t cost you anything. College students are sure to benefit in the mental health department when maintaining their physical activity.
- Maintain a balanced diet – No truer words were ever said, you are what you eat. If you eat well, you will feel better, if you eat unhealthy foods, you will likely feel less healthy than you would otherwise. This is one of the easier ways to make sure that you are taking care of yourself and your mental health. Of course, there will be the late-night ordering out with friends, but try to keep it to a minimum and make it a special occurrence rather than a regular occurrence.
- Get enough sleep – Sleep is super important to maintain your health as well as your mental health. It is well known that college students tend to have late hours and neglect their sleep, however, you may not be as up on the impact this may have on your mental health. Sleep is one of the first things to go awry when facing a mental health challenge and so for those who suffer from depression, anxiety, or any other mental health challenge, sleep is a vital component to staying healthy. One tip to think about is factoring this into your schedule, identify how many hours of sleep you need each night and plan around that number, build your schedule around this, which won’t always work out perfectly, but it will give you something to aim for.
- Be responsible/maintain accountability to your teachers and classmates- College will present many opportunities to work collaboratively with other students, and as mentioned you will have a lot of different due dates for different classes and projects. Do your best to communicate with your teachers, if you have a challenge or need an extension, talk to them and get an email out to them as soon as you are aware that this will impact your class assignments. The same can be said of working with other students. When it comes to group work, no one likes a slacker, while there will be, give and take at different times, make sure that you are building collaborative relationships where your classmates and teachers feel that they can rely on you and trust you to get the work done or communicate when having an issue. Having positive and reliable relationships with both teachers and fellow classmates will do a lot in terms of building a positive school community for yourself, which is a protective factor when it comes to warding off mental health challenges.
- Be a courteous roommate – Having a stressful roommate situation is one sure-fire way to increase symptoms of depression or anxiety. You won’t be able to control what your roommate does, and you may not like your roommate but it is a relationship that is worth extending yourself around to ensure it is as good as it can be. You can do this by simply being courteous and treating them the way you would like them to treat you. This is worth doing even in those situations where you do like your roommate and are friends, living with a friend raises that relationship a level or two and can be great but can also be tough.
- Find your college mental health supports and services – I can’t imagine a college campus without mental health services and supports at this point in time. When you get to campus or as you are touring around, get to know what is available and how accessible it will be for you. Even if you never needed this support in the past, college life will present you with new challenges and until you are faced with them, it will be hard to know how you will react. Be proactive and get this information before you need it and hopefully, you never will, but if you do, you will know what to do and where to go.
- Diversify your experiences and connections – College will present you with amazing opportunities to try new things and develop new interests. Break out of the routines and dabble in something new, you will likely meet new people and perhaps develop a lifelong love or interest in something you never knew existed. Having variety breaks up the monotony and can help to foster enthusiasm and energy that will sustain help the other mundane parts of studying and day-to-day life. As an example, when I was in college, there were squash courts and subsequently a squash club on campus. I had never picked up a squash racket before this in my life, but as an avid tennis player, I was intrigued so I gave it a try and loved it. I found it challenging and it opened me up to new people and new relationships that became cornerstones to my college experience.
- Practice self-care – If you are doing all of what I have been discussing above, then you likely have a good self-care plan in place. If not, maybe you will be able to incorporate some of what I have described here into your plan. Keep in mind that the hallmarks of a good self-care plan will provide you with outlets and restoration for the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual self. The idea is to give you balance and an opportunity to rejuvenate so that you can continue managing all of the challenges you encounter in your daily college life.
- Laugh as often as you can – Laughing is as therapeutic as any medical treatment out there. Laughter improves your mood by releasing endorphins and increases the flow of oxygen to many of the vital organs in your body. And life is just better when you can laugh about it! It’s important to be able to take that step back and not take everything so seriously all the time. Of course, keep in mind #4, there is always a time and a place, hopefully, you are able to find those moments when you can sit back and laugh, I think you will feel all the better for it!
In Short
Remember that you have made it this far… getting to college is no easy feat. It requires many of the same skills you will need, or have used in college, so rest assured knowing that you have what it takes. Think of this moment as an opportunity to refine and improve them.
Wherever you are on the college fear/anxiety spectrum, it is ok, as is the case for all of us, you are a work in progress and you are not going to college because you already “got it” this is why you are here and although there will be challenges, there will also be many great moments, grab them and hold on to them, they will be memories that you will hold on to for life.
If you are struggling with depression or anxiety sign up for my free email mini-course on how to beat depression below.
Please share this article with your friends and family who are either in college or have a college student in their family. By increasing awareness, we can better support mental health in college students and therefore their long-term success. Thanks for reading and see you next time! 😉
References:
- NCBI: Technology and College Student Mental Health: Challenges and Opportunities
- Inside High Ed: Mental Health Needs Rise With Pandemic
- The Brink, Boston University: Depression, Anxiety, Loneliness Are Peaking in College Students
- The JED Foundation: Students With Mental Troubles On Rise; Colleges Add Suicide Response Teams, Counselors
- NCBI: The Healing Power of Laughter
