{"id":667,"date":"2014-03-08T04:32:57","date_gmt":"2014-03-08T04:32:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/?p=667"},"modified":"2014-03-08T04:32:57","modified_gmt":"2014-03-08T04:32:57","slug":"centre-on-pace-with-rising-stress-levels-among-college-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/2014\/03\/08\/centre-on-pace-with-rising-stress-levels-among-college-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Centre on pace with rising stress levels among college students"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Derek Beaven<\/strong> – Staff writer<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not easy being a college student. Between balancing the pressures of class, homework, part-time jobs, and social and familial duties, there isn\u2019t much room for relaxation.<\/p>\n

Recent studies have shown that mental health among college students has become a pressing concern, and Centre is no exception.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are completely in line with national college [and] university numbers,\u201d Director of Counseling Services Kathy Miles said. \u201cNumbers of sessions have increased every year for seven years, and the number of students who utilize services at some point during an academic year has also increased each year. During the academic year of 2012-2013, 15.5% of our students sought help for at least one session throughout the academic year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miles cited several reasons for this increase, including the fact that the number of people seeking help for mental health problems is on the rise in the general population as well at colleges.<\/p>\n

She also noted that many students are receiving earlier treatment that must continue through college, and that Millennials are more likely to seek treatment for problems than members of past generations.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s difficult to identify all of the underlying issues that can cause mental health issues, Miles identified the most common factors, especially among college students. These factors include family and academic pressures, as well as economic pressures like student loans or the poor job market.<\/p>\n

\"Much<\/a>
Much like national stress levels, lines for Parson\u2019s counseling services have steadily risen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere are thought to be several contributing factors,\u201d Miles said. \u201cNo one factor explains the increase in mental health problems being reported on college campuses. The most common reasons being given are \u2026 Economic pressures which impact students \u2013 concerns about graduating college, loan debt, a challenging job market for graduating students and for their families \u2013 [the] highly competitive and demanding academic environment of many colleges [and] other stressors and challenging issues in so many families, which impact college students in those families.\u201d<\/p>\n

With economics and academics set as two primary concerns within the life of an undergraduate, it\u2019s important to address these issues and to try and find ways to help students cope with stress.<\/p>\n

Miles said that economic stress manifests itself mainly in the form of parents losing jobs and thus income, while academic stress is more of a \u201cself-reported,\u201d individual factor. Miles suggested finding ways to take the pressure off, accepting the challenge of academics while avoiding the stress.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Centre surveys consistently indicate that the high academic expectations at Centre are a major self-reported factor in our students\u2019 stress level,\u201d Miles said. \u201cWhat we try to do in Counseling Services is to help students lower their perceived academic stress by improving time management, study skills, utilizing all campus resources better, and changing their thinking about academic stress to less catastrophizing and developing more acceptance of academics as a necessary and positive challenge that will bring life benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students on campus are certainly feeling the pressures of college life, especially those about to graduate. Many seniors are anxious about leaving and breaking routines and connections they\u2019ve set up within the past four years as well as facing the difficult job market. This in addition to the stress of trying to manage everyday life is something students must cope with.<\/p>\n

\u201cCentre College is an extremely difficult place,\u201d senior Luke Wetton said. \u201cYou really have to master time management \u2026 In the past month-and-a half to two months, I moved to Fifth Street because I was subject to way too much stress and anxiety between academics and Greek life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Centre\u2019s high stress environment is a product of American culture,\u201d senior Chelsea Neal said. \u201cThere\u2019s this prevailing idea that you have to get good grades in college to get a good job in order to make money and be successful and happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neal also commented on the pressures of meeting those expectations. \u201cAnd if you aren\u2019t meeting those expectations, then you\u2019re just not working hard enough and you need to stress yourself out more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the challenges and issues facing college students across the nation, there are ways to both treat and potentially prevent any problems. Counseling services are provided on campus, always willing to extend a helping hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to slow students [from] being willing to seek help, particularly seeking help before problems worsen or become chronic,\u201d Miles said. \u201cWe know that we can continue to do a better job of giving wellness information to our students, and encouraging them to apply the information in order to prevent problems before they develop.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Derek Beaven – Staff writer It\u2019s not easy being a college student. Between balancing the pressures of class, homework, part-time jobs, and social and familial duties, there isn\u2019t much room for relaxation. Recent studies have shown that mental health among college students has become a pressing concern, and Centre is no exception. \u201cWe are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":668,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}