As millions of teens and young adults head back to school, the pressure is on, and it’s shedding an important national light on the importance of mental health treatment centers for troubled youth and teens suffering from depression.
As one editorial for Central Michigan Life reminded young teens and young adults, “Don’t neglect your mental health this semester, reach out and get help,” and this was in regards to SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder.”But whether you suffer from SAD, or other mental issues, as the Whittier Daily News reports, “on campus, record numbers seek mental health [help].”
As one student explained, she was scoring a 4.0 GPA, but she started feeling the slog of depression in her second semester. She felt inklings of it throughout her life, but when she grew older it hit harder. “I was feeling dread inside and fatigue,” she recalled. “I had nothing; nowhere to go or look forward to. I was like, I need to do something. I have no choice but to seek help.”
And as this report continues, in Southern California as well as all over the country, “unprecedented numbers of college students are seeking counseling for mental and emotional difficulties,” citing one survey that claimed that nearly 1 in 5 college students in the state of CA “reported psychological distress within the prior 30 days, a rate of crisis that’s more than five times higher than the general population.”
As one school dean put it, “To me it’s not an issue, it’s the issue.” And there’s also been a big leap in kids wanting to see counselors, which in the last five years “has far outpaced enrollment growth.” Clearly a lot of teens want a better future with higher education, but it’s also important that they get the help they need, whether on campus or through mental health treatment centers. (And thankfully today’s younger generation is doing a lot to break down the stigma against seeking help for mental health.