It’s hard enough to be a student, let alone a student amidst a time of political, social and economic turmoil. The current student faces a myriad of stressors that students a few decades ago did not experience to the same extent. However, it often feels like adults from generations before us refuse to acknowledge this and argue we simply don’t have the same mental toughness as their generation.

Richard Reams, director of counseling services, acknowledged the plight of today’s college students during his presentation to the Student Government Association (SGA) on Sept. 6. While his presentation focused primarily on counseling services’ plans to meet future demand, Reams also looked to the past at the evolving college experience.

Reams has worked at Trinity since 1994 and has seen first-hand how counseling needs have changed over the years, with anxiety becoming an increasingly prominent mental illness in today’s students. In fact, anxiety has surpassed depression as the most diagnosed mental illness in college-aged young adults.

Anxiety has always been part of the college experience. Students face a new environment, increased workloads, lack of sleep and separation from family and high school friends, all while trying to find a sense of belonging in their new community. Young adults are already an extremely vulnerable population since the age group often struggles with identity issues and mental illness, seeing as 75% of people with mental illness experience onset symptoms by age 25.

However, the mental health of college students is getting progressively worse. Looking back over the past decade, mental health among students has been steadily declining. Since 2013, the number of students with one or more mental illnesses has doubled.

Reams attributes the rise of anxiety to modern issues. Fears of recession and an oversaturation of applications have made the job market impossible to successfully navigate and even harder for those with college degrees. The increased presence of social media paired with obsessive social media engagement worsens anxiety. Eco-anxiety afflicts over three-quarters of young people. Student loans are currently the highest in history. Gun violence plagues America. Women are being stripped of constitutional rights. The list goes on.

It’s always been hard to be a student. Right now, it’s even harder. It’s easy to take one look at today’s headlines and feel utterly depleted and hopeless. Sometimes all we need is for these feelings to be validated. So, thank you to those who validate our feelings and work to create accessible resources for students to turn to in times of need.

Trinity students seeking support can reach out to counseling services at [email protected] or 210-999-7411.