Staying Mentally Healthy in College

Investigation into student lifestyle and its effect on mental health

—By Melanie Ermler and Olivia Meyers

Often times when thinking about healthy lifestyle, one does not think about living for keeping their brain healthy. Symptoms of stress and anxiety or diseases like major depressive and bipolar disorder are demonstrated through behavior or feelings. Unlike physical harm or immunal harm to the body, there is no blood leaking out of a paper cut or a runny nose to dispose of a pathogen. Harder yet is knowing proactive behaviors to be healthy. Mental harm is incredibly relevant to college students; about one third of first-year college students screened positive to at least one common DSM-IV anxiety, mood, or substance disorder. Depending on students’ backgrounds, everyone has different experience learning about mental health, how to take care of their mind, and how to incorporate mentally healthy behaviors into everyday life. It is of the utmost importance to learn about how to take care of yourself and combat against mental illness as a college student.

Many professionals and researchers have specifically targeted college students in regard to mental health care, such as Dr. Sheri Szuch, a therapist and licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in mood and self-esteem. Having the opportunity to speak with hundreds of UM students in the past twenty years, she does her best to provide unique methods of dealing with stress and anxiety for each student. Sheri recalls her college years, in which she recognizes that she did not have a proper balance to have good mental health. Sheri studied too much, and nonetheless got into therapy as an outlet. While her wisdom as a therapist has taught her how to better balance her schedule and figure out what is important, “it’s been a process.” In addition to walking and swimming, Sheri enjoys the release of playing the piano because it puts her mind at ease. Sheri admits that she continues to learn to cope with her own stresses differently each decade. Given the undeniable pressures of college and self-esteem issues that most students battle with, Sheri, both in personal and clinical experience, stresses the importance of college aged students taking care of themselves for the present and also learning important strategies for their future. She often encourages students to recognize true friendship, as students often get caught up trying to please everyone at risk of their own self-esteem, emphasizes genuine alone time, and helps students to recognize and do more of what they feel good about.

College students already do many behaviors that are good for mental health. Many students are aware and purposefully perform certain actions to promote healthy minds, while some behaviors are an innate part of college culture. For example, Dr. David Eisenberg, University of Michigan School of Public Health Professor on Health Management and Policy, says that college students partake in “physical activity, civic engagement, working hard towards a greater purpose, social interactions, and seeking help when needed.” All of these are behaviors promote positive thoughts, a positive way of looking at yourself, and a positive way of interacting with the world. Many students participate in exercising at one of the school’s three workout facilities or private workout boutiques, such as cycling or yoga. The University has many clubs and organizations routed in activism that foster a culture of standing up for important causes. Additionally, the University structures its dormitories, sororities and fraternities, and co-ops into co-living lifestyles that enhances social interactions between students.

Some lifestyles found on campus are innate to college and foster healthy behaviors; while other lifestyles are designed specifically to take care of mental health, as set forth by the individuals themselves. Naomi S., a junior in LSA, and Liz F., a junior in Ford School of Public Policy, both say that intentional activities they do to care for their mental health is to listen to what their body is telling them. Liz will often choose to work out, nap, and listen to music. Naomi purposefully prioritizes her quantity of sleep, engages only in activities that have to do with her values, and takes alone time; “I try to notice when I feel emotionally drained.” Both admit that spending time alone has helped them greatly understand their own bodies and minds, what they need, and how to best care for them. Finding alone time, however, is something they do intentionally, not something that is necessarily innate to college lifestyle.

According to a 2017 Forbes article, solitude is not only highly underrated, but a necessity for a healthy life. Although we are social creatures and need strong connections with others, solitude may be just as important to our emotional health. Being alone helps you become more comfortable in your own skin. When you’re by yourself you can make choices without the pressure of outside influences, and that will help you develop more insight into who you are as a person. The bombardment of social media along with the trend of #FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is a constant upward battle for today’s youth who feel pressured to be present at every social gathering, regardless of how much time these activities demand. The benefits of solitude are often overlooked because we live in a culture where young people feel compelled to publicize all their social events as testimony of their popularity. Solitude is rarely, if ever, promoted as a desirable choice. Perhaps, since there is no way to really change the fast-paced world we inhabit, we need to create an environment for ourselves that allows us to slow down, to disconnect, and to be fully present without the intrusion of technology or company. Studies show the ability to tolerate alone time has the following benefits: alone time increases empathy, solitude increases productivity, solitude sparks creativity, being alone can help you build mental strength and give you an opportunity to plan your life, solitude may reduce behavior problems in children, and solitude helps you know yourself.

In addition to the lack of receiving the benefits of solitude, college lifestyle also comes with many other negative peer-reinforced behaviors. For Liz, the college student slang and competitive body images is especially harmful to her. “I hate it when something minor happens to someone, such as not having the ice cream flavor they want or something, causing them to say ‘I’m so depressed,’” says Liz. “Also, it’s hard to hear people say they need a ‘skinny day.’” Phrases that use mental illness to describe every day events is simply a common part of college student-aged style of talking, as is the nature of striving to be thinner and thinner and discuss body image with peers. Additionally, U of M Associate Professor of Psychology, Dr. Ashley Gearhardt, lists skipping sleep, overconsumption of psychoactive substances, spending too much time on social media, socially isolating, generally constantly comparing yourself to everyone else, judging oneself and others extremely harshly, and identifying with unattainable beauty standards as harmful behaviors that are common amongst college students.

Recognizing (Un)healthy Behaviors on Campus

The discussion of healthy and unhealthy, intentional and coincidental behaviors affecting mental health leads to wondering if the university should take a more active role in teaching its students about mental health and how to take care of it in daily life. Unlike Naomi and Liz, there may be tons of students who lash out, face stress and anxiety, and have no idea what is causing these emotions or how to cope with  it. “Becoming more aware of how you’re feeling and of the patterns of stress in your life is key and has benefited me a lot and enabled me to pinpoint the things I need to focus on or avoid in my life,” says Naomi. Dr. Eisenberg believes the University can and should promote this awareness in its students. “Universities can help promote basic coping skills, such as skills grounded in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and positive psychology. Also, skills related to supporting peers who are distressed.” Furthermore, he believes that emotional training should begin in preschool and carry throughout middle school, high school, and college. While Elementary School through High School may have gym classes, music classes, and computer classes, mental health remains highly untaught. Teaching healthy skills and behaviors at an early age can support students for the rest of their life, however, there seems to be a huge lack of education, and unfortunately most are unable to recognize the root of their problems. “We see that adolescence and early adulthood is the peak time that mental health conditions develop. It’s an exciting, but stressful, time,” says Dr. Gearhardt. “But it’s never too late to start learning healthy behaviors for taking care of your mental health.” The services and training that the University provides can help those students who lack a background.

The University provides psychological services for mental health through CAPS, Counseling and Psychological Services. Like any organization or service, it has both strengths and weaknesses. Many students complain that the waiting lists for CAPS is too long. Often students want help immediately, but have to wait much longer than they had hoped, leading to more stress. “You only meet with your advisor every two weeks, so I wasn’t able to build a foundation or relationship with her,” says Naomi. While Naomi was looking for more permanent, weekly therapy to talk through daily life and emotions, not necessarily to fix a disorder, CAPS therapy’s style is to address a student’s problem and fix it. “It made it feel like a revolving door sort of thing.” She has since utilized off campus resources that CAPS had given her. With that said, however, Liz enjoyed her experience at CAPS because she believes it offers such a wide variety of resources on site. “It’s free and easy–it’s great that they have psychiatrists on staff so that everything is in one place.”

Many professionals, both clinical psychologists and professors alike, concentrate their expertise on the importance of mental health in college aged folks. Dr. Sheri Szuch, Dr. Ashley Gearhardt, and Dr. Daniel Eisenberg are only a few of these amazing people. Everyone can benefit from learning skills to keep themselves mentally healthy, as Dr. Szuch demonstrates, but recognizing what is best for you on any particular day is the skill needed to stay on track. With the unique living style of the college bubble, there will always be ups and downs. Knowing how to deal with life’s unavoidable obstacles and prioritizing mental health as a result is a skill everyone should have. Some students are prepared to deal with the ups and downs and prioritize their mental health by including intentional behaviors and actions, while some students are lost into the cycle of too much studying, too much partying, too much anxiety or stress, and do not know how to cope with. It is important for those who lack this ability to gain the knowledge and tools to be healthy and thriving. We need to remember that many people, adults and peers included, have gone through our same experiences and it is not only okay, but often encouraged to reach out for help when needed. Speaking and learning about mental health and how to take proper care of yourself has never been a big part of our country’s schooling history. Not until recent have people began to step up and take control of the invaluable resources and information about the function of the brain behaviors. If sprightful actions are taken, we can all become healthier and create more opportunities for positive living.

Feature photo by Melanie Ermler.