With spring break being over and only a couple weeks of school left, anxiety and stress are on the rise for current IWU students.
Dr. Richard Hooker, a professor of addictions counseling, said the Department of Behavioral Sciences performed a survey in 2024 about students’ mental health.
“We found that 25% of our students are dealing with some kind of mental health disorder,” Hooker said.
Hooker said their survey showed anxiety and depression as the top disorders.
“We found that 25.3% of our students said that there was at least (a) two-week period of time that they felt sad and hopeless and couldn’t do anything else,” Hooker said. “However, 7% of them said during the past 12 months, it got to the place where they seriously consider suicide.”
As the topic of mental health increases, many students are still hesitant to speak up about their struggles.
Junior Isaac Suer said that when his mental health decreases, he secludes himself from those around him.
“I had no motivation to leave my room, and I would avoid people,” Suer said. “Even now, I find myself secluding from others and doing less activities when my mental health decreases.”
Suer said he has found it both easy and challenging to get help on campus when he is struggling.
“Timely Care is nice to use, but it is so hard when you can only meet once a month,” Suer said. “However, it is easy to talk with professors since they are willing to listen.”
With mental health being a struggle for all students, graduation can affect mental health disorders.
Haley Bring, a licensed clinical social worker in Indianapolis, said that graduation can have a positive or negative impact due to changes in stressors.
“Depending on what those stressors are that maybe impacted their mental health in a not-so-great way, if those are relieved by graduating and getting into the workforce, then you might see some improvement,” Bring said. “But more often than not, if we’re feeling anxiety or not really knowing how to cope healthily with stress, those habits and the lack of coping will usually carry over into that next phase of life.”
Bring said the best way to work on your mental health is to take care of yourself and your mental wellness.
“Make sure that you are caring for all of the skills that you need to be a successful student,” Bring said. “Learn those things now while you have the time to learn and make mistakes.”
Bring said it is good to remember that no feelings and adjustment periods last forever.
“Maintain the mindset that these are only temporary and don’t laminate it into a narrative,” Bring said.
