, one in six college students is diagnosed with or treated for anxiety. Some attribute this to our fast-paced world, where information is readily available, making patience a virtue of the past. Others attribute it to the academic and financial demands of attending school. Either way, anxiety has managed to climb its way to the top of the list of the most common mental health diagnosis on college campuses, affecting hundreds of people on our campus alone.
And I should know, I am one of them.
Before attending NC State, I had no name for that overwhelming panic that occasionally popped into my life. But, during my first few months here that panic began to visit a little more often, which soon turned into a few times a week, which later turned into most days, until it reached a point where I was having more bad days than good and every day seemed like a fight to keep my head above the water. This was made worse by the fact that I never wanted to admit that I had gotten in over my head or needed help. I never wanted to admit that I was having a hard time, for fear that I would be labeled a failure or disappointment.
You know what, though? College is hard.
If not for the academic rigor, then for the social demands and if not for the social demands, then for the extra-curricular demands, but regardless, it’s hard. It is important to ensure that we are taking care of ourselves in all facets. Balancing academic careers while networking for your future one, while maintaining some semblance of balance, is tough.
Last week, Union Activities Board hosted the second annual Tuff Talks. At the event, professionals and students recounted their pursuit of happiness and the mistakes college students sometimes make when going after their goals. Two particular speakers stood out: Waleed Ahmed and Victoria Kroll. Ahmed stressed the benefits of aligning your dreams with your desired career goal, while Kroll recounted her own struggles with depression, anxiety and self-acceptance.
Often, when you ask a college student why they chose their desired field, you receive answers concerning job stability, flexibility and salary, but rarely happiness. This can lead students to feel the need to pick high-risk, high-reward careers, or engage in an excessive number of extra-curricular activities to prove their ability to be successful.
Sometimes, students even engage in activities that they don’t even like, which can contribute to anxiety — as if having your hand in 20 different activities guarantees success. From personal experience, the most stressful activities in my life were the ones that I had no passion for; the ones I only did to improve my resume or receive recognition.
Kroll touched on finding peace in by accepting yourself. The goals we chase and the dreams we have are great, and we should by no means give them up, but a crucial component of finding peace and acceptance is accepting yourself — something that we should all keep in mind. The extracurricular, the awards and the recognition don’t define us, and if they do, we are probably putting more stress on these outside forces than we should be.
All this goes to show, that while many view college as challenge to be taken on head first and full steam ahead, it is still important to reserve time to review and ensure that the goals we set align with our happiness. In doing so, the chances are, that the anxious feelings associated with having to do something to be successful will be alleviated and some of the pressure associated with college life will be relieved.
Remember that college is not just a time to rack up rewards and receive recognition, but is also a time for personal growth, most of which occurs outside of the classroom and within yourself.
