Anxiety Displaces Depression as Number One Mental Health Concern Among College Students

*The following is excerpted from an online article from the Business Insider.

While depression was once the most common mental health problem on college campuses, The New York Times reports that's not the case anymore.

Anxiety is now the No. 1 mental health diagnosis on college campuses, according The Times. The Times cited a recent study of more than 100,000 students by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health at Penn State which found that more than half of students seeking help at campus clinics report anxiety as an issue.

Mental health counselors say students these days have a harder time dealing with stress than previous generations, in part because of the prevalence of helicopter parents.

"They can't tolerate discomfort or having to struggle," Dan Jones, director of counseling and psychological services at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, told The Times. "A primary symptom is worrying, and they don't have the ability to soothe themselves."

The number of college students dealing with mental illness has spiked in recent years. Back in 2010, The Times reported that national surveys showed nearly half of college students seeking counseling had serious mental illness. That was double the rate from the year 2000, according to The Times.

A 2010 study from the American College Counseling Association cited by The Times found that 24% of college students seeking mental-health help in college were on psychiatric medication compared to 17% in 2000.

After anxiety and depression, the most common concerns among students seeking mental-health counseling these days are stress, family, academic performance, and relationship problems, according to the study from the Center for Collegiate Mental Health that The Times cited in its recent article.

Source: Business Insider
http://www.businessinsider.com/anxiety-is-the-biggest-mental-health-problem-facing-college-students-2015-6