Before CNU Captains left for Thanksgiving break, they received a video address by President William Kelly and First Lady Angie Kelly, relating to the mental health challenges that this time of the year brings to college students.
The address was meant to be proactive by offering advice on how to deal with one’s own struggles at this time of the year. They mention how, despite the positive environment for personal growth and fellowship that college brings, there are unmentioned struggles that people are dealing with that deserve to be addressed. “We’re heading into a time of year where those challenges are more likely,” William Kelly said.
It is a known fact that mental health across college campuses and society at large is a growing problem, with social struggles or isolation being particularly harmful for one’s sense of purpose and self-worth. These are not uncommon among most college students who are at a time in their lives where they’re taking on increasing professional, academic, and social responsibilities that make actually providing for one’s own mental and emotional needs very difficult.
44% of students reported symptoms of depression, 37% experienced anxiety and 15% said they considered suicide, according to a Healthy Minds Study that more than 90,000 students across 133 U.S. campuses participated in. The suicide rate is the highest in the survey’s 15-year history.
As the Kellys describe it, the end of the semester is something of a pressure cooker for one’s existing stresses given the constant back and forth between family and friends, finals on the horizon, while for senior students there are also considerations about graduate studies and getting a job.
President Kelly also points out the responsibilities that Captains share to one another. He stated that CNU students can and should seek out help from friends, faculty, RAs, and counseling services and that they are willing to support someone else when they’re in need.
Above all, the Kellys stressed the importance of CNU’s counseling services, insisting that if anyone is going through a crisis or needs immediate assistance they contact the counseling office at: (757) 594-7047.
