Psychological disorders in college: some students suffer silently

By Thais Ackerman

Student names have been changed in this piece due to the sensitivity of this topic

She looks like your average college student walking the campus of Mercer University. She hangs out with her friends, goes to football games and has study groups just like any other student.

She does not want you to know is that she is diagnosed with anxiety. She wants to speak openly about her diagnosis but she is still afraid of what others might think. There is a stigma of psychological disorders.

A person is labeled by their illness, generalized to fit a stereotype and shamed for it, she said. So she prefers to talk using a pseudonym of Anna White.

“It’s not really something you want to just broadcast,” White said. “I feel like a lot of people peg people who say they have mental illnesses. Like they are just dramatic or it’s kind of illegitimate.”

Mental health problems cover a broad range of disorders but share common characteristics. They all impact the affected person’s personality, thought processes or social interactions. The stressful environment of higher education complicates things even further for someone like White.

Simple things like test taking, sleeping, relationships and personal hygiene can become traumatic or difficult for people like White to handle, according to Mental Health America.

Every day is different for her. Some days she does not feel like she has an anxiety disorder, other days she can’t forget it.

“Just interacting with people normally and like being able to get my words out… it’s hard to process my thoughts,” White said. “I’m always really hyper concerned of how people have perceived me like every single word I say, I obsess over it. Just doing stuff like driving is hard. Going to new places. It’s just every aspect.”

In the spring of 2016, over 10 percent of undergraduates reported that they were diagnosed or treated by a professional for both anxiety and depression in the past year, according to the American College Health Association’s Spring undergraduate summary.

Anxiety and depression are the two most common mental health diagnoses.

“I have students that are suffering often without seeking treatment,” said Miranda Pratt, a professor of psychology at Mercer University. “There is definitely an impact on people’s relationships with others, on their ability to concentrate, read and retain material.”

Many disorders that have psychotic features have an age of onset around the time that people usually go off to college.

“You might have made it through high school successfully and the stress of going off to college and being without a support system may contribute to the development of some of these disorders in people who are vulnerable to them,” Pratt said.

Many psychotic disorders tend to run in families. Frequently, there is a genetic predisposition to a disorder if a parent or other close relative suffers from one. However, that does not necessarily mean they will develop it, Pratt said.

Another sophomore, who also wanted to use a pseudonym, said she developed depression during her first semester of college. Diane Peters said her father was diagnosed with depression when he was her age, so her condition is genetic.

Peters said her roommates noticed a shift in her mood and urged her to get help. During winter break, she notified her parents. They took her to a psychologist who prescribed her with the medication she used for the rest of her freshman year.

“I wasn’t feeling like myself and my mood wasn’t the same. I was always sad and sometimes for no reason. I didn’t even know why I was upset but I was,” she said.

For many people like Peters, this mood shift is new and noticeable. Others who have dealt with a disorder their whole lives and have learned how to manage it may find that the stress of higher education makes their prior coping skills less effective.

Directors of counseling centers have one of the most direct lines to observing the state of mental health on college campuses. At Mercer, Counseling and Psychological Services, also known at CAPS, are available to students who are experiencing symptoms of a mental illness.

“I would encourage people to seek help,” Pratt said. “There are good treatments that people can plug into that help you be more resilient and help forestall future episodes.”

Staying aware of disruptions in sleep, appetite, difficulty in concentration, controlling emotions and intruding thoughts are ways Pratt says one can stay on top of their mental health, especially while in college.