On-line Counseling
College presents many learning and growth opportunities. Sometimes, these opportunities come with challenges than can make students feel overwhelmed and burnt-out. When a person is not feeling well physically, emotionally and/or mentally it is hard to perform well and succeed in school. Below are listed some of the common challenges that college students encounter. If you feel that your situation needs more in-depth help, contact Allen Riggs at the Snow College Wellness Center at ude.wons@sggir.nella or 435.283.7136.
Young people who try illegal and legal substances can easily begin to missuse these substances. College presents stressors that sometimes influence students to abuse these substances in order to feel more comfortable, increase performance, or "belong" to a group of people. The misuse of drugs and alcohol while at college severely affect a person's present and future success physically, emotionally, mentally, and socially.
The National Institute of Mental Health reports nearly a million people suffer from and eating disorder. The most common age for eating disorders occurs from 14 to 25 years. At least 10% of young adults with an eating disorder will die or suffer life threatening complications from their disorder.
Students experience anxiety/stress in a variety of forms: test performance, social situations, and general anxiety associated with starting college and having an independent life. More severe anxiety can include panic attacks, phobias, obsessive thinking, compulsive behaviors, and generalized worries. When anxiety reaches a point to cause difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest, problems swallowing, and/or an inability to sleep; help is available.
The pressures of college life can influence students to feel depressed particularly as they semester drags on. There is a difference between feeling the "blues", sadness, low energy, bouts of negativity, or distress during challenging times. If left unresolved, personal grief and unhappiness can grow to take over more and more of life.
Homesickness and some depression are associated with grief and loss. The transition to college involves some grieving as each student must leave their home and former life to start a new, independent life. Sometimes during the college experience, individuals experience loss either through illness, accident or death. Knowing how to cope with loss effectively gives strength to one's life.
Trauma and abuse take many forms: physical, sexual, emotional, and/or psychological. It is now uncommon for a student to deal with the issues of abuse while in college. Often the abuse occurred prior to college, while some students find themselves in abusive relationships. There is no excuse supporting abusive behavior or the need for people to remain victims of that behavior.