University students, especially in their first year, may face a plethora of mental health challenges. International students especially often get overlooked. They may not be familiar with mental health support services available to them, or feel like they will be stigmatised for struggling at university. Perhaps wanting to fit in, or not stand out from the crowd, international students are more prone to mental health disorders in general. The overlooked minority: Mental health of International students worldwide under the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond – PMC
“International research suggests that the mental health of adolescents and university students has deteriorated over recent decades, with levels of distress, anxiety and depression on the rise. Transition to university can, if not managed well, be a significant risk factor for students’ mental health”
We often assume that the Covid lockdowns triggered a spiral in the general population’s mental health. However, the above quote was written pre-Covid before students were forced to isolate and learn online, severely impacting social interaction and university transitions.
Whilst an incredibly exciting time, full of dreams and ambitions, the transition into university is a major life change for young people. No longer living with family, or in a familiar neighbourhood, no longer surrounded by faces of schoolmates and teachers. They face the challenges of a new routine; finances, food, laundry, shopping, and of course, getting to class. This can often lead new students to feeling overwhelmed, lonely or isolated. Studies show mental health often overlooked on college campuses | Daily | lsureveille.com
For international students this can be exacerbated by cultural and social changes, including language barriers, different foods or unfamiliar traditions such as ‘Greek Life’ (sororities and fraternities) at most US institutions. Even weather changes such as the cold, dark and shorter days, can trigger depression (Seasonal Anxiety Disorder-SAD) .
It is, of course, not only international students that suffer from mental health challenges. A 2012 case of a first year Oxford University student who took his life after being placed on medical leave, prompted an investigation into how the university cares for students struggling with mental health issues. The student had been placed on medical leave because he was struggling with his studies due to depression. Sadly, his parents were not informed of the medical leave, nor their son’s struggles. This prompted the university to review its mental health care practices. Mother fights to unravel student’s death as Oxford reviews mental health care
A Tsunami of Mental Health Concerns
In 2013, a report in the University Affairs publication of the University of Toronto reported a ‘tsunami’ of mental health issues across Canadian university campuses. :
“a mental health tsunami that is reordering priorities in every community and educational institution.” Helping students with mental health issues — University Affairs
Since that time, universities around the world have placed more importance and funding to improve mental health approaches, procedures and support to students. This has helped reduce the stigma once placed on mental health challenges, and lessened the fear of seeking help. The University of Toronto overhaul to how it approached mental health, includes same-day counselling and a 24-hour multilingual counselling service. How to meet students’ soaring mental health needs without soaring funding
Duty of Care vs. Confidentiality
A debate around institutions’ duty of care vs student confidentiality has arisen in recent years. While it might be assumed that parents/guardians would automatically be informed if their child was struggling with depression or suicidal ideation, in fact this is not necessarily the case. In the UK, after a University of Liverpool student took her life, her parents were shocked that not only had they not been informed of her vulnerable mental health condition, but also that she had been hospitalised three months prior due to an overdose. As far back as 2002, a UK Universities report stated that its universities were “rightly reluctant to disclose any personal information without adult students’ express permission”. Would universities call parents in a mental health crisis?
Mental health policy is up to individual universities to decide, and since then many have implemented an ‘opt-in’ system where students can choose to give consent to the university to disclose serious mental health issues to parents/guardians. At the University of Bristol, 90% have opted to do this. Contrary to that, not even 50% 90% of the UK university industry offers the option at all. There is a counterargument, that removing confidentiality to parents might actually make some students reluctant to report their mental health struggles. Would universities call parents in a mental health crisis?
More Hope, More Work
“We are going through one of those times in human history when difference — of origin, of religion, of political orientation, of sexual orientation, or simply of ideas or ways of expressing them — is increasingly seen as a threat,” Professor Irene Tracey, Oxford University
Universities are trying to step-up to fill in the gap in the available support for students. Recently, The Times reported that one in eight students at Oxford have sought out counselling services and that 2,000 members of staff have been trained to respond to student mental health concerns. The idea is that recognising mental health is a whole university endeavour, rather than that of a single department for counselling services. ‘Kindness’ has been identified as the quality to be placed at the heart of all university work and relationships. One in eight Oxford students seek counselling
How to Recognise Possible Mental Health Struggles
According to one report, the five main mental health challenges facing university students are anxiety, depression, eating disorders, substance abuse and suicidal ideation. Top 5 Mental Health Challenges Facing Students | BestColleges
This can manifest in several possible ways*:
- Disengaging from university and other activities and commitments
- Socially withdrawing
- Problems with motivation and concentration.
- Changes in eating and sleeping patterns.
- Indulging in addictive behaviours or taking unnecessary risks
- Physical symptoms such as headaches, digestive issues and physical pain
- Low mood or increased irritability.
- Lack of energy and motivation.
- Constantly feeling tearful, angry or on edge.
- Avoiding certain situations.
*taken from Looking after your mental health at university | Prospects.ac.uk
As parents and educators, it is important that we speak to our children about their mental health and remove any stigmas or reluctance to seek help. We should encourage our children to speak up. Before sending them off to university parents should also find out what university policies are and where to find support if needed.
