Worry, Stress, Cry, Repeat
Memes dominate the internet, and as college students some of the most popular ones you see have to deal with a mental health concern: anxiety.
But why do we find these slightly morbid memes relatable? Because as college students so many of us have actually had to grapple with these problems.
In 2014 Penn State released a study that showed that anxiety had passed depression as the leading health concern among college students. It’s 2016, and the numbers are just rising. The American College Health Association reports that about 1 in every 6 college students have been treated or diagnosed with anxiety in the last 12 months.
Universities and colleges with counseling centers are seeing sharp rises in students coming to them for help. The University of Central Florida, the largest university in the United States, has seen a rise of 15.2% in the past year. This rise is shocking, and shows a real statement on how many students are being affected by these feelings.
Professionals are seeing the rises, but what is causing so many students to feel this way?
I started looking into research and found an article written by The New York Times. In that article the director of counseling and psychological services at Appalachian State University had the quote, “A lot are coming to school who don’t have the resilience of previous generations. They can’t tolerate discomfort or having to struggle.”
I nearly slammed my laptop closed.
Many professionals sum up this anxiety problem as a “Millennial” problem. It’s an entitlement thing. We’re the generation that grew up getting participation trophies, and because of that we’re whiny and don’t know how to handle the real world.
I am a college student with anxiety. Don’t you dare tell me it’s because I don’t have resilience. Don’t tell me it’s because I got a participation trophy in soccer even though I did nothing.
My anxiety comes from growing up in a family that didn’t go to college. My parents didn’t go to college. None of my 3 older siblings went to college. I was in honors classes with students whose parents were doctors and lawyers, and my dad was a farm boy and my mom was a stay at home mom. They all knew college was expected of them. I only knew college as a dream.
I ended up choosing to go to Marquette University, a college 2,000 miles away from home.
Once I got to college the pressure got worse. The stakes were higher. If I didn’t do well here I’d have to go home defeated, and in debt. My scholarships started to weigh down on me. Their GPA requirement was a menacing whisper in my back of my mind constantly.
My anxiety grew and grew.
I’ll never forget when I got my first test back, and it was a 72. Then my next was a 69. I stared at those scores in disbelief. I started to find myself getting grades I’d never gotten before, C’s. My world was crumbling because all I could think of was how my parents refinanced their entire lives to send me to college. If I lost my scholarships theres no way my family could afford this. I kept thinking of how tight they hugged me in the airport before they sent me off to college telling me that they knew I’d do great. Except, I wasn’t doing great. I just wanted to tell my parents I was sorry for disappointing them. I felt like maybe I wasn’t cut out for college after all. It made me snap, and I had a meltdown.
I was one of the many students who went to a counseling center on campus. I cried in the office for almost the entire session because of all of the dread that had been bottled up inside. Slowly I was able to come out of the hole I dug myself into. I was able to be more positive about school, and how to relax my nerves.
Anxiety isn’t easy. It isn’t fun. It’s like waiting for an impending doom, and never knowing when it’s going to hit.
This isn’t a “Millennial” problem. This is a mental health problem college students face. College is a a tough time with so many changes. We’re leaving our families and our friends. We’re living in small, crowded dorms. We’re learning the new demands we have in our lives. It’s okay to get overwhelmed.
My biggest is advice is try to understand that small failures don’t define you. We all slip sometimes. You’ve just got to keep pushing and you’ll make it through. And always remember there’s someone probably feeling the same way you are.
