Most Common Mental Disorders Among College Students
Diva Aulia Rahman | 14 March 2022
A mental disorder or illness is a change in a psychological behavior pattern that significantly affects emotions which could hamper a person’s functionality in daily life, such as studying, working, etc. There are lots of disorders that exist, with each of them having its own variety of symptoms. Due to its complexity, having a consultation with a mental health professional is highly advised since a self-diagnosis could lead to an act of misleading that could result in more unwanted consequences.
Nowadays, the trend of facing mental disorders has rapidly risen, especially for college students. According to a survey conducted by American Psychological Association, the number of students with severe psychological problems has grown in the past year, which has become a serious issue to be addressed among the college and university directors. Between hundreds or even thousands of types of disorders university students face, here are some of the most common ones.
Anxiety
It is normal to feel anxious in some moments, especially when you are about to tackle your school or work tasks. As a matter of fact, it can be beneficial sometimes since it allows us to focus our attention and even elevates our awareness of dangerous situations. However, an anxiety disorder is not the type of stress we face in everyday life. The unbearing nervousness becomes a medical condition when it starts to happen from time to time regularly and impedes our ability to perform daily activities.
Shortness of breath, muscle tension, headaches, sweating, and dizziness are just some of many other symptoms related to anxiety disorder. Like any other mental illness, anxiety disorders are not caused by a person’s weakness or their upbringing. To this day, researchers worldwide are still unsure about the exact causes of this particular mental illness. Nevertheless, scientists suspect a combination of chemical imbalance, environmental stress, and medical factors to have a role in triggering anxiety disorder.
Depression
Every person in this world has been granted the ability to have an emotion and feeling, including sadness. Feeling down in the dumps is normal in a person’s daily life. Nonetheless, a sadness that persists and even hampers the activity of conducting jobs or schoolwork could be a sign of depression. Depression itself is a mood disorder that causes a person to feel sadness and lose interest frequently. Until now, the medical community still has not been precisely sure to determine the causes of depression. However, it is highly possible that depression may be caused by several variables such as genetic features, chemical imbalance in the brain, and many other factors.
As mentioned earlier, sadness is one of the signs of depression, but the exact other symptoms for every person are different. Changes in sleep habits, feelings of hopelessness, and difficulty in concentrating are just some examples of it. Suppose a series of these symptoms occur for two weeks relentlessly. In that case, a consultation with the expert is highly advised since it indicates depression, not merely a normal sorrow.
Suicidal
Undoubtedly, many students have frustrations and burdens to bear in their lives. However, an intense momentum of these thoughts and conditions may lead the students towards unwanted places where the intention of suicide comes up. The signs of suicidal vary from person to person. Still, some common warnings usually appear, such as a feeling of having no reason to live, talking about being a burden to others, and behaving recklessly.
If you experience the symptoms above and think about ending your life, tell a friend or call the suicide hotline immediately. Suicide is such a preventable accident. If you feel hopeless and think you are only a burden for everyone, it is vital to know that someone really cares about you. Moreover, if you spot the suicidal symptoms within your friend, it is crucial to communicate this matter with a trusted counseling center as soon as possible and try to be there for them.