10 Common Mental Problems of Students

The goal of the current paper is to clarify what mental problems are most common among college and university students and what measures can be taken to help students overcome these problems. If left untreated, the mentioned disorders can have a number of negative effects on students’ welfare and academic performance. Therefore, it is important to take actions to combat the problem. According to the existing research, one out of four students suffers from the symptoms of a mental disorder, while around 40% of students in the US do not make attempts to seek medical assistance. It is obvious that there are ever-increasing concerns over the mental problems faced by students nowadays, so this paper will attempt to identify the symptoms of such disorders as depression, suicide, eating disorders, anxiety and some others. The current paper does not provide tips to solve the problem, but rather focuses on analyzing what mental problems are prevalent among college and university students specifically in the United States. Here is a list of most common mental health problems among students:

1. Depression is one of the mental health problems faced by college students. According to the survey, nearly 40% of students reported that they frequently experienced a feeling of being depressed. Depression is known to be a number one cause why students leave school and if left untreated, this disorder can lead to drastic consequences, such as suicide. Depression is a serious illness that is characterized by a feeling of helplessness and detachment from the surrounding world. This disorder interferes with the life of students and makes it difficult for them to study and lead a normal life.

2. Another prevalent mental problem of students is chronic fatigue. This mental problem is characterized with loss of energy and sleepiness. It is often accompanied with the loss of interest in various educational activities or social gatherings. We all sometimes feel tired, but it is especially hard to cope with a constant feeling of tiredness when a person is unable to look at the bright side. This problem is explained by poor nutrition, including the consumption of fast food common for students, as well as over exhaustion with numerous assignments that students are tasked with.

3. One more mental problem faced by students is interrelated with the previous one. It is revealed in apathy towards most things that happen on a daily basis. Some students tend to react negatively towards their educational experience, social life or the relationships with loved ones. At the same time they often feel sadness or anger over some problems that they are faced with. This results in a constant feeling of apathy towards any events that happen around. It is a serious problem that negatively affects the educational performance of students.

4. Anxiety is another mental health problem faced by students. It is often accompanied with stress and can be explained by a stressful life of students who are overwhelmed with multiple educational tasks. Anxiety disorder interferes with the everyday life of students and prevents them from leading a normal life. It causes a huge amount of stress added with various unexplainable fears. According to the existing research, anxiety disorder is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States. It affects around 40 million adults aged 18 years and above. This disorder needs to be treated medically, but not many students seek medical assistance trying to overcome the problem on their own.

5. Panic disorder is another prevalent mental problem among students in the US. It is characterized by regular and unexpected attacks of panic and terror as well as a constant feeling of fearfulness. As a rule, this disorder can be effectively treated with the help of medications. The only problem is that not all students suffering from this disorder seek medical attention. This disorder can lead to a number of negative consequences affecting the daily life of students and preventing them from performing well at school. If left untreated, the situation is likely to aggravate so that students will be unable to lead a normal life and study to the best of their abilities.

6. Another common mental problem among students is revealed in thoughts of committing suicide. College and university life can be a stressful period for most students. Studying in higher educational establishments, students may frequently feel guilty or hopeless, which makes them unable to cope with frequent stressful situations. All this results in thoughts of committing suicide, which is the second prevalent cause of death among students in the US.

7. Another matter of concern is the prevalence of such disorder as anorexia among students. Anorexia is known to be the third most prevalent chronic disease among young people aged from 18 to 25 years. Existing research has found that over 90% of female students are trying to lose weight by means of dieting, which often leads to the development of eating disorders like anorexia. This disorder can cause serious physical and mental problems and can even be life-threatening if not treated timely.

8. Bulimia is one more mental problem common for college and university students. It is a binge eating disorder that includes frequent periods of eating excessive amounts of food which is then followed by binging like vomiting or over-exhausting physical exercises. This disorder is caused by a distorted body image peculiar to students who are conscious about how they look. It represents a serious problem that requires immediate medical attention.

9. Addiction is one more common mental problem of students in the US. Drug and alcohol addiction often starts with frequent abuse of substances. It has been found that over 80% of students in the US tend to drink alcohol regularly, and among these students nearly 25% report poor academic performance. Therefore, addiction has drastic effects not only on the health of students, but also on their performance in educational establishments.

10. The last but not the least, one of the common mental problems of students is self-injury. It is revealed in a situation when students deliberately cause harm to their bodies without an intention to commit suicide. It is rather a way of dealing with negative emotions. It has been found that this disorder is caused by lack of mechanisms to cope with stressful situations faced by adolescents.

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