In this day and age we have been lead to believe that there is a pill to cure just about anything. If you turn on the television there are dozens of pharmaceutical commercials promoting the latest and greatest drugs that will cure all your ailments. There is an increasingly growing number of college students who have let the stress in their life build up and are turning to antianxiety medications and antidepressants to help. According to the National Alliance on Mental Health (2012),”Colleges counseling centers have observed an increase in the prevalence and severity of mental health issues experienced by students and an increase in the number of students taking psychotropic medications.” NAMI also goes on, stating that doctors will not
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Research is supporting the effects of yoga as well; yoga has been shown to improve many health issues including anxiety and stress. The wonderful thing about yoga is, is that it is affordable and can be done by nearly anyone of any age or ability (Diamond 2012). Research is also looking at yoga’s effect on college students. One study looked at graduate level health science majors who were either in a Doctoral of Physical Therapy or Masters of Occupational Therapy program. With the health science programs difficult and demanding courses, students were experiencing high levels of stress. The purpose of the study was to compare the immediate effects of yoga, humor, and reading activities on acute stress in these graduate level students. After completing a three week 30- minute session of either yoga, humor, or reading they all had similar effects in decreasing acute stress (Rizzolo, Pinto-Zipp, Stiskal, Simpkins, 2009). Yoga not only helps reduce stress amongst some of the most stressed students but it can also improve brain functioning. A study has shown significant increase in both Delta and Alpha waves, this suggests that yoga can improve brain functioning among students, which can pave the way for better mental performance (Ganpat, Nagendra, Selvi, 2013). College campuses usually do a good job of offering free or reduced exercise classes, so it …show more content…
With growing enrollment alone one might think that it is enough justification for increasing and enhancing the mental health services available on college campuses. Without sufficient treatment, young adults facing abnormal mounts of stress or another mental illness are more likely to receive lower GPAs, drop out of college or be unemployed than their peers who do not have a mental health challenge (National Alliance on Mental Health, 2012). Occupational therapy can have a profound impact on college students dealing with stress. According to the American Occupational Therapy Association (2007), “the profession promotes the formation of healthy habits, routines, and increased engagement in meaningful occupations that serve both as protective and healing factors in combating the negative effects of stress.” Occupational therapist bring a unique outlook on managing stress, because they look at the patient holistically and help the client identify any maladaptive behaviors. Having an OT on college campuses would be a great resource for students. The occupational therapist could lead groups on health promoting and stress reducing habits, organize a yoga class, or work one on one and use a coach approach and apply lifestyle management to promote change. Occupational therapist would fill the gap on a college campus, their unique outlook on therapy
Research is supporting the effects of yoga as well; yoga has been shown to improve many health issues including anxiety and stress. The wonderful thing about yoga is, is that it is affordable and can be done by nearly anyone of any age or ability (Diamond 2012). Research is also looking at yoga’s effect on college students. One study looked at graduate level health science majors who were either in a Doctoral of Physical Therapy or Masters of Occupational Therapy program. With the health science programs difficult and demanding courses, students were experiencing high levels of stress. The purpose of the study was to compare the immediate effects of yoga, humor, and reading activities on acute stress in these graduate level students. After completing a three week 30- minute session of either yoga, humor, or reading they all had similar effects in decreasing acute stress (Rizzolo, Pinto-Zipp, Stiskal, Simpkins, 2009). Yoga not only helps reduce stress amongst some of the most stressed students but it can also improve brain functioning. A study has shown significant increase in both Delta and Alpha waves, this suggests that yoga can improve brain functioning among students, which can pave the way for better mental performance (Ganpat, Nagendra, Selvi, 2013). College campuses usually do a good job of offering free or reduced exercise classes, so it …show more content…
With growing enrollment alone one might think that it is enough justification for increasing and enhancing the mental health services available on college campuses. Without sufficient treatment, young adults facing abnormal mounts of stress or another mental illness are more likely to receive lower GPAs, drop out of college or be unemployed than their peers who do not have a mental health challenge (National Alliance on Mental Health, 2012). Occupational therapy can have a profound impact on college students dealing with stress. According to the American Occupational Therapy Association (2007), “the profession promotes the formation of healthy habits, routines, and increased engagement in meaningful occupations that serve both as protective and healing factors in combating the negative effects of stress.” Occupational therapist bring a unique outlook on managing stress, because they look at the patient holistically and help the client identify any maladaptive behaviors. Having an OT on college campuses would be a great resource for students. The occupational therapist could lead groups on health promoting and stress reducing habits, organize a yoga class, or work one on one and use a coach approach and apply lifestyle management to promote change. Occupational therapist would fill the gap on a college campus, their unique outlook on therapy