Anxietyhasnowsurpasseddepressionasthemostcommonmentalhealthdiseaseamongcollegestudentsthoughdepressiontooisontherise.Morethanhalfofstudentsvisitingcampusclinicsciteanxietyasahealthconcernaccordingtoarecentstudyofmorethan100000studentsnationwidebytheCenterforCollegiateMentalHealthatPennState.Nearlyoneinsixcollegestudentshasbeendiagnosedwithortreatedforanxietywithinthelast12monthsaccordingtotheannualnationalsurveybytheAmericanCollegeHealthAssociation.

Thecausesrangewidelyexpertssayfrommountingacademicpressureatearlieragestooverprotectiveparentstoengagementwithsocialmedia.Anxietyhasalwaysplayedaroleinthedevelopmentofastudent’slifebutnowmorestudentsexperienceanxietysoacutethattheyareseekingprofessionalhelp.LikemanycollegeclinicstheCenterforCounselingandPsychologicalServicesattheUniversityofCentralFlorida(UCF)-oneofthecountry’slargestandfastest-growinguniversitieshasseensharpincreasesinthenumberofclients:15.2percentoverlastyearalone.

AnxietyhasbecomecharacteristicofthecurrentgenerationofcollegestudentssaidDanJonesthedirectorofCounselingandPsychologicalServicesatAppalachianStateUniversityinBooneN.C.Becauseofincreasinglypressuresduringhighschoolheandotherexpertssaystudentsarriveatcollegepreloadedwithstress.Accustomedtoextremeparentaloversightmanyseemunabletogovernthemselves.Andwithparentssoaccessiblestudentshavehadlessincentivetodeveloplifeskills.“Theycan’ttoleratediscomfortorhavingtostruggle”DrJonessaid.

Moreoftenanxietyismildandtemporarytheindicationofastudentunderthecontrolofanormaldevelopmentalissue-learningtimemanagementforexampleorhowtohandlerejectionfromasorority.Mildanxietyisoftentreatablewithearlymodestinterventions.Buttocareforrisingnumbersofseverelytroubledstudentsmanycounselingcentershavemovedtotriageprotocols(分诊措施).Thatmeansthatstudentswithlessurgentneedsmaywaitseveralweeksforfirstappointments.

LikemanycollegecounselingcentersUCFhasdesignedavarietyofdailyworkshopsandtherapygroupsthatimplicitlyandexplicitlyaddressanxiety