MADISON — Young adults are experiencing elevated rates of mental health problems. Today’s college students were in, or starting, high school when the pandemic pivoted much of their educational and social lives to online experiences. The majority of today’s college students report struggling with substantial levels of stress. Emotional stress is the most frequently cited reason for dropping out of college.
The newly released fact sheet from the Wisconsin Office of Children’s Mental Health (OCMH) provides a number of strategies to bolster college well-being, including school belonging, positive coping skills, mental health screenings, and suicide prevention. OCMH highlights that efforts to foster face-to-face interactions and build social connectedness on campus pay off for student mental health.
“When students interact with their peers, engage in a shared activity, try out a new sport or hobby, join a cause or club that ignites a passion, this allows them to build healthy relationships, develop life skills, and become socially connected, said OCMH Director Linda Hall. “This in turn, fuels belonging which is really central to mental health.”
In response to the record demand for mental health services, Wisconsin colleges and universities offer a host of counseling options, wellness activities, workshops, and tools to help train students to manage their stress with healthy coping skills. These are the very skills students will need when they finish their academic stints and enter their adult lives.
“Helping students learn positive coping skills, providing therapeutic services, and fostering a campus-wide culture of caring will not only improve their mental health, but also help more students complete their degrees and improve their economic health in adulthood,” Director Hall said. “The state’s future economy depends on the success of today’s college students’ ability to complete their degrees and secure jobs that propel themselves, their families, and the state forward. Wisconsin can’t afford to not address these issues.”