Suicide is one of the top ten leading causes of death in America, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lack of help for mental health is one of the reasons suicide is in this category.
55 percent of the 600 students seen in 2018 by Winthrop’s Health Services were diagnosed with some form of anxiety, according to Dr. Gretchen Baldwin, a clinical psychologist with Crawford.
The number of mental illnesses in college students has not grown, but more students are reaching out to obtain help, which is why it seems that the numbers are growing.
The most talked about and seen mental health cases are depression and anxiety. The amount of these cases is higher for a variety of different reasons.
“My opinion personally is that it has a lot to do with the pressure our age group is put on [and it] is to go into college and getting a four year degree,” said Lindsey Russell, a graduate student psychology major. “Vocational settings are just as important as four year degrees. I think a lot of college students feel compared to their peers and people are taught to attend four year colleges.”
However, there are various factors leading into this.
“I believe that mental health does not exist in a vacuum, and it is generated as a result of the various systems which we interact like family, academic, political, spiritual and environmental,” Baldwin said. “If there is unrest or conflict in many of these areas, we will see greater mental illness in the individual.”
There could also be a correlation of these increased numbers of mental health problems to the introduction and use of social media in the past decade.
“Social media can contribute to the perception of relationship, but these connections are illusory. Folks we interact with online are usually surface level connections,” Baldwin said. “The impression we manage online is one of beauty, laughter and success, [however] it leaves no room for real conversation about vulnerability or growth.”
For those who are struggling with mental health you are not alone and can obtain help.
Winthrop Counseling Services are available Monday through Friday. First-time sessions are available on a first–come/first–serve basis, You can make an appointment in person at Crawford, online through Crawford’s Medicat Patient Portal, or by calling Counseling Services at (803) 323-2206.
If Crawford is not open and you do not feel safe, you can always go to the closests emergency deparment or reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 1-800-273-TALK or to the Crisis Text Line by texting Hello to 741741.
Photo: Tate Walden/ The Johnsonian
