Education & Mental Health

Education is one of the most stressful events that people can endure. Education is a trouble economically, it is a struggle for many to get an education simply because they cannot afford one. But education has more consequences and social impacts than that. Not only is it demanding mentally and socially, but the mental effects can also be devastating. Mental health is significantly lower in places with stressful educational environments.

One of my best friends is diagnosed with depression, he goes to UNC Chapel Hill. He attends a highly regarded school with amazing grades and extracurriculars. He attributes part of his depression and overall state of mental health to the stress and suffering he goes through just trying to get an education. Once he said to me that he feels like he is being pulled in so many different directions, he doesn’t know which way to turn.

Many places do a good job of trying to emphasize mental health and preach about how their goal is the well-being of their students. But actions speak louder than words. When schools and other educational facilities preach this and then assign huge loads of assignments, students can feel like they are drowning and just going to college because they don’t know what else to do. And then after school, comes real life, where it is just as stressful, it seems the current state of education just contributes to the overall suffering and demise of society. Education can be great and fruitful when done the right way, but in my experience that is rare.