anxious-college-student

[anxious-college-student]

College with Anxiety

According to ADAA (Anxiety & Depression Association of America) 18.1% of American’s 18 and older suffer from some form of anxiety disorder, but only 36.9% of suffers seek treatment.

40 million adults in the U.S. with some form of anxiety disorder and one of the most common issues with anxiety and depression is feeling alone. Harvard states that according to a fall of 2018 study, 63% of college students suffer from feelings of overwhelming anxiety, while 23% reported actually being diagnosed with some form of anxiety disorder. Those numbers are only continuing to rise. with the pandemic feelings of isolation and stress have been running high, fear of going out in public causing a crisis in mental health as college students are expected to continue to operate as usual. 

But what is anxiety? Anxiety is an intense, excessive, and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations. Anyone can have anxiety, but not everyone’s anxiety can be classified as a disorder. The National Institute of Mental Health defines 6 types of anxiety disorders.

Generalized anxiety disorder is defined as “…display excessive anxiety or worry, most days for at least 6 months, about a number of things such as personal health, work, social interactions, and everyday routine life circumstances.”

Panic disorder is when a person is faced with recurring and unexpected panic attacks. “Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear that come on quickly and reach their peak within minutes.” People who suffer from panic attacks can experience sweating, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and a feeling of impending doom. People with panic disorder often try to avoid all situations in which they could have a panic attack, specifically places or situations they have had an attack before.

Phobia related disorders are intense fears that aren’t always logical in the situations the person suffering from the disorder finds themselves in. Much like those with panic disorders, people with phobia related disorders will try to avoid the object or situation which causes them great fear and will excessively worry about encountering their fear.

Specific phobias, sometimes called simple phobias involve an intense fear of a specific thing or situation, such as heights. I separated this from phobia related disorders because general fears encompass more feelings of anxiety and often are more common situations or objects for a person to run into.

Social anxiety disorder is defined as “an intense fear of, or anxiety toward, social or performance situations” this disorder involves a fear of what their peers might think of them, specifically how negative others will think of them. This anxiety disorder covers a wide range of situations, and often leads to the person with social anxiety actively avoiding social situations.

Agoraphobia is an intense fear of at least two of the following situations; using public transportation, being in open spaces, being in enclosed spaces, standing in line or being in a crowd, and being outside of the home alone. People with agoraphobia avoid these situations, and in extreme cases, the person with agoraphobia can become house-bound.

Separation anxiety disorder, those with this disorder often fear being separated from those who they feel attached to. They often worry that some form of harm will come to the person while they are away from them. This fear leads suffers to avoid being apart from those they are attached to, and to avoid being alone.

Along with these anxiety disorders there is a common symptom of selective mutism, which as a college student, can be a massive inconvenience. Selective mutism is a result of failure to speak in social situations, often due to anxiety.

The National Institute of Mental Health recommends multiple types of therapy and medications in order to treat these disorders but they don’t offer a lot of coping mechanisms. That’s where Harvard’s research comes in.

Harvard’s recommended methods to reduce anxiety are;

“Approach, don’t avoid.” Many students like myself when faced with anxious situations tend to stick with avoidance - skipping assignments, class, meetings. But all this does is cause anxious feelings to continually rise. By tackling what has been causing these negative feelings, students finally get it out of the way, allowing themselves to relax.

“Practice self-care.” Many students struggle to maintain healthy eating habits, regular exercise, and proper sleep schedules while in college. Harvard prioritizes the importance of establishing these habits before you even start college.

“Find resources on campus.” Many campuses offer resources for students to help transition into college and cope with stress.

In severe cases of anxiety and anxiety disorders many students might not find these coping mechanisms enough, but often in extreme cases those with these disorders are also not fit for other situations and often don’t apply to the general population of college students.