If you read my "Race to Extreme Lack of Sleep" post, you know that I believe kids are under so much pressure to get into college, and a good one at that, that it is detrimental to their emotional, and sometimes physical health. Well what happens to these stressed students when they actually start attending college? Does the pressure suddenly disappear because they have successfully accomplished their goal? On the front cover of the New York Times today, there is an article (link) about freshmen in college being less emotionally stable than ever. So the problem of over-worked students does not resolve itself when college begins; it only worsens.
Because of the recession, many college students must take out student loans, which piles on the stress when they start to feel that they can never pay that debt off. Another big concern for college freshmen, although they have just begun, they are already worried about jobs. In today's financially-challenged economy, college students are having a tougher time getting jobs than ever before. And some feel like they owe it to their parents, who have supported them emotionally and financially all through school, to get a stable job out of it. Because of all of these stress-inducing factors, the study on emotional health of college freshmen showed that the percentage of students who claimed to have "above-average" emotional health went from 64% in 1985 to 52% now. This means that the "race" to college is not over when college begins.
On the New York Times website, the article features a picture of a whiteboard (link) in a Stony Brook university's health facilities, in which therapists meet with overworked students. This whiteboard signifies the pain and angst students are feeling due to pressure and stress: "Hold on if you feel like letting go/ Why am I here?/ Believe/ I can.../ Love yourself/ No one understands."
There seems to be two options for college student to deal with stress. Either a stressed out student goes on over load; and thats when a Cornell-type suicide tragedy can occur. Or their newfound independence kicks in; and they party their college diploma away. These are two extremes, but these are happening to students throughout the country. Let's stop stressing out students from the beginning, so no one is lead down one of these awful paths.
ReplyDeleteHayley-
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting post and I think it will appeal to many students because sometimes we become so stressed out that we break down. If the amount of students who commit suicide is very high like you stated, then the amount of students who contemplate suicide must be even higher. The fact is, no one should feel this way and it is important that we stop the sending the message that it is okay. The message continues to be sent out because when someone takes their life, the system still goes on just as it did before. How can we allow for that message to be sent? I believe that no one should ever have to deal with those thoughts and we need to stop letting that happen in situations where it is preventable.