BU Provides Mental Health Resources to Students During Increase in Mental Health Issues
According to the Mayo Clinic Health System, up to 44% of college students have experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young adults ages 15-24, according to The Jed Foundation, a nonprofit committed to preventing suicide and improving emotional health in young adults. Students are experiencing high levels of anxiety, depression, and a multitude of other mental health disorders in the post-pandemic world. This data shows that there is a mental health crisis occurring in the young adult population.
Despite the prevalence of mental illness among college students, those suffering might still feel alone. Samantha Fallon, a senior at Boston University, said that stigma around suicidal thoughts deterred her from getting the help she needed.
Fallon’s mental health had been under control until she began college. Prior to her move to BU, Fallon had been diagnosed with ADHD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and OCD, but she had learned to manage and cope with these disorders through a combination of talk therapy and a variety of medications. This became a familiar routine for her, and had never failed to help. However, once she got to college, Fallon quickly learned that her previous treatment was not enough.
Depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts and ideations began to occur. For over a year, Fallon struggled in silence. She began to feel alone and isolated, which only exacerbated the heavy feelings she was experiencing.
After what seemed like an eternity of hurting alone, she said, she picked up the phone one November night of her junior year and called her mom. “I need help,” she said. Fallon’s journey toward improving her mental health began that night and still continues today. “Some days just getting out of bed is the biggest task I can achieve,” says Fallon. “It’s hard because while I’m experiencing episodes of depression I also feel let down and upset that I can’t perform the way that I used to. It makes me lose my sense of purpose, and I guess at the end of the day that is what has caused me to feel suicidal.”
While she has grown and healed drastically over the last 11 months, Fallon acknowledges that her healing is not a linear path, and that she still has periods of difficulty with her mental health.
It wasn’t until her dialectical behavioral therapist, a therapist specifically for people struggling with self-harm and suicide, told her that “she was not crazy for the feelings and pain that she was experiencing” that Fallon was able to overcome the insecurities about her mental health.
According to Dr. Jesine O’Gara, a dialectical behavioral therapist in Needham, stigma can be a real barrier to care for some patients.
“The first step for everyone is to do what they can to combat the stigma that still exists around needing and getting mental health treatment,” O’Gara said.
“Depression is on the rise, suicidality is on the rise, and completed suicide is on the rise,” she said. “The rates have definitely gone up.”
On Tuesday, October 4, the Executive Director of Student Wellbeing at Boston University announced the launch their new website. The website includes dozens of resources as well as opportunities to get involved with the program. In the past few months, the program has planned events across campus for community members and formed partnerships in the hopes of helping every individual thrive at the university.
Taking the first step on the journey to bettering one’s mental health can be a difficult one, but Boston University provides a variety of resources for students who may not be ready to take the steps to get treatment on their own or don’t know where to look.
The Albert & Jessie Danielsen Institute at Boston University, an outpatient mental health clinic and research center, strives to help the Boston population with their mental health.
“Our mission, given to us by our deed of gift from Albert and Jessie Danielsen, is to “alleviate human suffering and enhance human growth through service, training, and research,” said Lauren Kehoe, the Director of Administration and Finance for the Danielsen Institute. She also mentioned that they “provide individual, couples, group, and family therapy, and we also have psychopharmacological services available for clients in treatment with us.”
Located on Bay State Road on Boston University’s East Campus, the Institute’s eight services are available to anyone who lives in the greater Boston Area. For BU Students, it is one of a few resources they can find at the school. Universities, the places that many students call home, play a big part in supporting their students, said Dr. O’Gara.
“If you really want to care about your students, it’s about having more professionals on campus to deal with the rising mental health levels,” O’Gara said. Therapy, or counseling, is one way to alleviate the suffering many students are feeling.
The Student Government at Boston University has a Mental Health Committee, whose goal is to advocate for mental health, increase awareness, and end the stigma surrounding it. The committee has launched a website that contains many resources for students who need help but don’t know where to look. According to Sarah McArdle, a committee co-chair, the pilot program resulted in a massive influx of students seeking out behavioral medicine services at Boston University’s Student Health Services.
“SHS through Behavioral Medicine did run a pilot program where they provided therapists for students,” McArdle said. “They had a massive problem with being completely over encumbered with how many students wanted to make meetings.”
In Samantha Fallon’s case, she was able to seek medical help outside of BU’s offerings. However, she says that she is ecstatic that the university is reaching out to help students with a range of different needs, get the mental health care that can help them heal just as she has. She hopes that “everyone will come together to break the stigma and leave no one to struggle on their own.”
Mental Health Resources:
BU Mental Health Committee – o
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 988
Crisis Text Line: Text HELLO to 741741
https://blackmentalhealth.com/
https://www.boston.gov/news/september-suicide-prevention-month-and-national-recovery-month-2
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/volunteer/...
https://masspreventssuicide.org/