In recent years, it has become somewhat of an expectation to obtain a college degree. Landing a steady, high-paying, job without a degree is more of a rarity than it should be. Those who choose not to attend college face being labeled as failures, said to be destined for unemployment and unhappiness. Equating postsecondary education with success, our society tends to shove freshly graduated high school students into a new phase of life that they may or may not be ready for. As the amount of students attending college each year increases, so do the mental health problems on campuses. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) one in four college students have a diagnosable mental health problem. College campuses need to be
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Although there are many reasons why an individual may not ask for help, stigma is one of the biggest barriers. Daniel Eisenberg, and his co-authors, point out that breaking down this barrier is especially important in college because many mental illnesses first rear their ugly heads when an individual reaches college-age: “Epidemiological studies suggest that the 15–21 age category (typical college years) has the highest past-year prevalence rate of mental illness at 39%,” (Mackenzie et al.). Students can be easily influenced into burying their struggles with mental health because of the beliefs of the general public. This is referred to as public stigma. Public stigma impacts the stereotypes and prejudices held by an individual. This is referred to as personal stigma. Personal stigma corresponds with self-stigma, when an individual identifies with a stigmatized group and applies stereotypes and prejudices to themselves (Eisenberg et al.). An individual who is surrounded by a society that holds the belief that asking for help is a sign of weakness will be influenced by public stigma. This public stigma will impact their personal stigma, leading them to hold this belief as true. If this individual needs to ask for help they will likely refrain because of self-stigma; the individual does not want to be perceived as weak. Stigma is dangerous, destructive, and in some cases, deadly. Understanding the mental health stigma that exists on college campuses is the first step to reducing it. Although stigma will probably always exist, there are ways to diminish it effectively. Patrick Corrigan suggests that there are three approaches when attempting to eliminate stigma: protest, education, and contact. Group protests battle false representations of mental health problems, directing their message to the media and the public. Educating the general public about
Although there are many reasons why an individual may not ask for help, stigma is one of the biggest barriers. Daniel Eisenberg, and his co-authors, point out that breaking down this barrier is especially important in college because many mental illnesses first rear their ugly heads when an individual reaches college-age: “Epidemiological studies suggest that the 15–21 age category (typical college years) has the highest past-year prevalence rate of mental illness at 39%,” (Mackenzie et al.). Students can be easily influenced into burying their struggles with mental health because of the beliefs of the general public. This is referred to as public stigma. Public stigma impacts the stereotypes and prejudices held by an individual. This is referred to as personal stigma. Personal stigma corresponds with self-stigma, when an individual identifies with a stigmatized group and applies stereotypes and prejudices to themselves (Eisenberg et al.). An individual who is surrounded by a society that holds the belief that asking for help is a sign of weakness will be influenced by public stigma. This public stigma will impact their personal stigma, leading them to hold this belief as true. If this individual needs to ask for help they will likely refrain because of self-stigma; the individual does not want to be perceived as weak. Stigma is dangerous, destructive, and in some cases, deadly. Understanding the mental health stigma that exists on college campuses is the first step to reducing it. Although stigma will probably always exist, there are ways to diminish it effectively. Patrick Corrigan suggests that there are three approaches when attempting to eliminate stigma: protest, education, and contact. Group protests battle false representations of mental health problems, directing their message to the media and the public. Educating the general public about