By: Zoe Strickland
Managing Editor

Statistics show that the number of college students struggling with mental health has been steadily on the rise for the past few years. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and is devoted to educating the public on how mental health plays a role in everyone’s lives.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, “1 in 5 Americans will be affected by a mental health condition in their lifetime.”

The number of college students that are seeking help for mental health has been growing exponentially; this increase is prevalent on Western’s campus, “counseling services provided 4,554 mental health appointments to WOU students in 2016 – 2017 … an increase of about 1,000 contacts from the previous year. Some of the reasons for the increase in mental health contacts can include an increase in our counseling staff; presenting information on SHCC services to students, staff, and faculty; students experiencing less stigma to access mental health counseling services; and improved treatments for mental health issues,” said Jaime M. Silva, the clinic director for Western’s Student Health and Counseling Center.

“Mental health issues are a leading impediment to academic success among college students. Untreated mental illness in the college student population — including depression, anxiety and eating disorders — is associated with lower GPA and higher probability of dropping out of school,” states activeminds.org.

Though mental health issues usually result in decreased academic and professional performance, many students still aren’t seeking help for their mental health. A 2015 report done by the American College Health Association stated that, of students who are struggling with their mental health, two-thirds won’t seek treatment.

It’s not a secret that it’s important to maintain positive mental health; so why aren’t students actively seeking help?

Though Western’s SHCC offers confidential counseling for students who are registered in more than six credits or have paid the university health fee, some students who struggle with mental health haven’t gone to SHCC for counseling.

“As a transfer, the resources available on campus were not explicitly shared, because of this I was not aware of my options and went straight to my primary care provider for the short time I had one,” said Linzy Griffin, senior education major.

An anonymous student who went to the Student Health and Counseling Center during their first year, but hasn’t been back since then stated that “The counselor that I was seeing was a student counselor … but I could only see the counselor once a week for a certain amount of weeks and with that time frame, I don’t feel that it gave me enough time to get to and through my issues. I was only truly able to getting comfortable by the last session and then we had to end it all.”

The SHCC offers a myriad of different counseling services, such as crisis, alcohol and drug, group and couples counseling. They also hold workshops and support groups that vary from term to term; this term’s group is described on the website as being for “those who are in recovery from an eating disorder and those who are contemplating disordered eating behaviors.”

SHCC will soon be moving into a new building that’s located on the main drag of campus. The new Student Health and Counseling Center will have “more exam rooms for medical services and more counseling offices to increase our mental health counseling staff,” said Silva.

Seeking professional help for mental health is important; current culture also promotes the use of non-professional ways of de-stressing and taking time to oneself. When asked what alternate ways they have of coping and relieving mental stress, both students responded differently.

“I began smoking, and drinking in response to stress,” said Griffin. “Now, I use a planner, and schedule reminders in my phone. When planning ahead, I always include a block of time for myself, as a reward each week.”

“I like to take mental days to myself. If I have had a really bad stress day that has just been building up and has finally boiled over, I like to take a day just to myself and not go to classes and to call out of work for a sick day (mental health is just as important as bodily health). I do this only if I know it won’t stress me out more to miss that day in class,” said the anonymous student.

When asked what Western could do to improve their resources for students struggling with mental health, the anonymous student said that “online support would be helpful especially for students that are crazy busy or who feel that going into some place would cause them more anxiety.”

Students who are interested in scheduling a counseling appointment or learning more about the SHCC can call 503-838-8396 or stop by the counseling center which is located between Church St. and the F Lot. If a student is in immediate distress, they should contact the counseling center or Campus Public Safety at 503-838-9000.

Contact the author at journalmanaging@wou.edu.