By Jaylen Beaner-Walker
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Baltimore college students’ mental health crisis demands urgent attention
In recent years, mental health has become a rising concern among college undergraduate students. According to a survey from UnitedHealth Group, 77% of college students reported a friend or acquaintance with at least one mental health concern.
These mental blockades have had impacts on students’ abilities to learn and hone in on their academics inside and outside the classroom. Data from an Inside Higher Ed survey composed of 5,025 undergraduates reported that students’ poor mental health has taken a toll on their ability to learn and focus on their academics.
For some students, demanding curriculum and coursework have driven free time away from proper self-care. Kalvin Salser, a sophomore at Towson University, shared, “I find that I have less time to focus on myself, which is definitely hard when I’m so busy with work and school.”
Students also shared how their professors have addressed the persisting issue of poor student mental health.
Tyler Story, a senior at Towson University, said, “It seems to me that one of the responses to help maintain the mental well-being of students is to avoid digging too deeply into any topic of conversation that may trigger the trauma that students have faced.”
The mental health issues students face are not completely temporary but can persist and expand into bigger issues years later. A study from the National Library of Medicine reported that 60% of students who had a mental health issue continued to report one other mental issue two years later.
As more emphasis has been placed on the importance of mental health assistance, students have expressed what actions schools can take to alleviate the stressors that come from mentally taxing course loads.
“Schools can implement those mental health days and ensure teachers are not assigning work,” said Paris Wright, a junior at Morgan State University.
Students have found their own ways of coping with any mental health problems that they may face by prioritizing self-care during their free time.
“The foundation of my daily concerns has shifted from being a student to being a person that understands that my well-being comes before any scholarly pursuits,” said Story.
Both Salser and Wright agreed that finding time to relax and to do other activities, such as hanging out with friends, has helped them alleviate mental stressors.
Towson University has several resources for mental health assistance, such as the Student Outreach and Support, along with their counseling center.
Morgan State University also has a counseling center on its campus and has partnered up with UWill, a teletherapy program that provides students attending Morgan State access to independently licensed counselors 24/7.
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