More than half of about 400 Fort Lewis College students surveyed in the spring reported feeling so depressed it was difficult to function at one point within the last 12 months.
The striking statistic demonstrates the rising rates of anxiety and depression among FLC students and their peers across the country.
“I think college is just an overwhelming time in general. It’s a huge transition. You are all of a sudden by yourself without any of your previous friends,” said Natalie Wilcoxen, a psychology major at FLC. “Life feels really real, and you are trying to figure out what you want to do. I think there are a lot of existential questions that come up when you start college, and I think that’s really overwhelming.”
Many students are balancing multiple jobs and family obligations in addition to their classes, said Megan Wrona, an assistant professor of psychology.
“It’s easy for us as faculty and staff to underestimate how much students really have on their plate that can contribute to some of the struggles we see with mental health,” she said.
Results from the National College Health Assessment have helped raise awareness about student needs and helped staff members at the Student Affairs Department identify anxiety as a priority to address, said Kendra Gallegos Reichle, the coordinator for Student Wellness Initiatives at the college. FLC staff, who work in student affairs and health, use the student data on an ongoing basis to determine how well they are serving students.
The survey found 68 percent of students felt overwhelming anxiety in the last 12 months compared with 47 percent in 2010.
Staff members want to ensure that students are screened for symptoms of anxiety and receive treatment for those symptoms, said Amie Bryant, a licensed clinical social worker and certified addiction counselor with the FLC Counseling Center.
“Reducing symptoms of anxiety in a lot of ways is an individual thing,” Bryant said.
Even if anxiety continues to rise among students, it wouldn’t necessarily mean that the college’s programs aren’t working, Gallegos Reichle said. The trend is a national problem that is not unique to the college, she said.
Depression and anxiety can put young people at risk for suicide. In Colorado, suicide rates among those 20 to 24 years old have risen every year between 2007 and 2016, according to the state health department. The data show 52 people in this age group died in 2007 and 100 died in 2016 across the state.
In La Plata County since 2012, six people in their early 20s have died by suicide, according to data from the La Plata County coroner. Five of those deaths have happened since January 2017.
Emily Dee, 22, Giancarlo Vigil, 23, and Calvin Maupin-Rickman, 23, attended FLC.
While college students are reporting more anxiety and depression, simply attending school can help prevent deaths by suicide because students are interacting with peers, staff and professors, who may be able to help intervene if a student is in crisis, said Benjamin Locke, executive director of the Center for Collegiate Mental Health.
Studies have consistently found since the 1980s that rates of deaths by suicide in college are about half that of the general population, he said.
“When people leave campus, a lot of times the community of concerned folks may be reduced,” he said.
While students are living on campus, the most effective suicide prevention for colleges requires a comprehensive approach that includes building awareness about how to seek help, identifying at-risk students and offering counseling, according to research compiled by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The foundation also suggests restricting access to firearms, the roofs of tall buildings and other common means of suicide.
FLC started the year with an “Inside Out” themed event at orientation. It drew on the popular Disney film that explores emotions and highlighted the school’s options for mental health support.
A mental health awareness week is also planned this year as part of the Student Union’s programming, Gallegos Reichle said. It will start Tuesday and feature a meditation event, a suicide intervention training and a talk by Kevin Hines, a suicide attempt survivor, who jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge in California.
“(Mental health) is on people’s minds, and it’s not just staying there. It’s coming out and people are talking to each other about it,” she said.
FLC offers students five counseling sessions they pay for through their student fees, Bryant said. The school is adding a counseling position this year to bring the number of senior staff to seven. The center also employs between six and nine interns who meet with students.
The counseling center serves 20 to 25 percent of the student body each year, and it does not have a waiting list, Bryant said.
Students in crisis are seen immediately, and those who walk in can schedule an appointment within a week, she said.
The college also employs a psychiatrist and a psychiatric nurse, who can help students manage medications for mental health disorders if needed.
Gallegos Reichle said students who get in trouble in the dorms for violations like alcohol or marijuana use are required to attend one-on-one peer counseling with a psychology student.
The counseling helps students focus on making positive change and exploring the reason for their actions.
“It always ends up being more about a deeper issue,” said Wilcoxen, who counsels other students. Her counseling sessions often focus on being overwhelmed or feeling lonely, she said. The peer-to-peer counseling is open to anyone who is interested.
The college has offered suicide intervention training for a long time, but it has become more intentional in the last year and a half, Gallegos Reichle said.
Over the summer, the college offered its first Mental Health First Aid training for staff, and it has offered another one since. The eight-hour training covers some of the signs of mental health disorders and mental crisis and how to encourage someone to seek professional help.
Gallegos Reichle said she would like students to be ready to help their peers in crisis by asking them if they are considering suicide, walking with them to the counseling center or calling a crisis line with them, going with them to the emergency room or calling 911.
“I would like them to be open-minded and non-judgmental,” she said.
If a student is aware one of their peers is in crisis but the individual is unwilling to seek help, students can fill out a student-of-concern form online to report it.
The school does about three suicide intervention trainings per year for students, and it is planning to put on a Youth Mental Health First Aid Training in October. The eight-hour trainings cover common mental health challenges for youths, adolescent development and how to help people in crisis.
Gallegos Reichle would like to expand the opportunity for students to get trained in suicide prevention by offering it online for those who want to take the training on their own time.
The school’s grant office is looking for opportunities to help pay for this training, she said.
Kevin Hines will speak at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 12 at the Fort Lewis College Community Concert Hall. For more info visit fortlewis.edu/kevinhines or call 247-7508.
A free Youth Mental Health First Aid training will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 27 at Fort Lewis College Jones Hall room 140. The class is limited to 30 people. To register, call Royce Tranum at 749-6052 or visit https://goo.gl/forms/qJN0TZ2OQe6xQ0nk2.
