Summary: The Influence Of Mental Health On College Campuses

Mental health has become a serious issue amongst college students in the United States. According to the National Alliance on Mental Health Illness (2015), the third leading cause of death on college campuses is suicide. 73 percent of college students who are currently living with a mental health condition have experienced a mental health crisis on campus. However, 34.2 percent reported that they were not aware that their students were dealing with these issues on their campus. In the past year, over 11 percent of college students have been diagnosed or treated for anxiety, and more than 10 percent of students reported that they were either diagnosed or treated for depression (National Alliance on Mental Health Illness, 2015).
The National Alliance on Mental Health Illness (2015) states that the underlying reason as why college students do not seek help for mental health illnesses is stigma. The mental health stigma that has been generated by our society has caused barriers for college students when it comes to seeking professional health. In order for college students to improve their attendance with mental health professionals, these stigma barriers have to be broken. LiveWellNYU, The Jed Foundation: Jed and Clinton Health Matters Campus Program, and NAMI on Campus are three …show more content…
Studies have shown that Asian international students tend to experience discomfort or shame when seeking mental health services compared to the American students. Language and cultural barriers may also contribute to international students not wanting to seek professional help for mental health conditions (NYU, 2012). With the mental health stigma in our society, it is important that programs that address mental health on college campus/universities make their services more accessible to international students and students from the LGBTQ