When the demands of college life became overwhelming for Frostburg State University student Jennifer Cruz in fall 2012, she paid a visit to her Maryland campus health center complaining of chest pains. Though she met with a doctor who was able to check her heart, Cruz’s condition was unable to be confirmed. Cruz and the doctor discussed options that could help reduce her stress.
The following spring, Cruz decided to visit the school’s wellness center. Through the wellness program, she learned how to balance her residence hall supervisor job, 18-credit course load, independent study and mounting personal responsibilities, which consisted of her involvement with several campus organizations, including the Student Communications Studies Association (SCSA), Anti-Bullying Club, Latin American Student Organization (LASO) and PACDEI (President’s Advisory Council in Diversity, Equality and Inclusion).
“It made me think about my wellness in a different aspect—not just physical or eating,” says Cruz, 21, a psychology major from Columbia, Md. “I now have more of a balance between me and stress and my relationships with other people.”
Cruz’s stress soon diminished, the chest pains subsided, and her grades improved, landing her back on the dean’s list. She admits to sometimes feeling stressed, but says she now has the tools to manage it better.
Stress and related conditions are growing increasingly common among college students, according to the spring 2012 American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment. More than 44 percent of student respondents reported feeling hopeless within the last 12 months, 85 percent felt overwhelmed, and 29.5 percent felt so depressed it was hard to function. In the last 12 months, 12.1 percent had been diagnosed or treated for anxiety and 10.6 percent for depression.
In an effort to be proactive and address the upsurge in students’ stress-induced ailments, colleges and universities are expanding their health care services to include wellness and health promotion, mental health and substance abuse. They are providing a full scope of counseling services such as stress reduction, mental health screening and suicide and sexual assault prevention, as well as educating students about nutrition, sleep deprivation and exercise.
