Essential or Destructive?

Health encompasses many aspects, however, it can be overruled, bypassed, or influenced completely by the mental aspect. College is thought of nowadays as a necessity for young adults, and yet it can be extremely damaging to our mental state. This has the butterfly effect of disrupting all of the other facets of your overall wellbeing, whether it be physically or socially, amongst others.

When asked, “Do you feel the college lifestyle affects your mental or physical health?” one friend replied, “Yes, last semester especially I wasn’t eating as much as I should have as a result of extreme expenses of college.” Your body needs fuel and depriving it of that will significantly affect your energy, performance, and mood to name a few. College expenses are an extreme source of stress for a lot of people even after you graduate because of the debt.

Another answer was, “The college lifestyle is terrible for mental health. Professors don’t care if you have other course work due, classes expect you to work outside of class at least two times the hours that you’re in class…. All results in extreme stress, mental breakdowns, and lack of self-care for everyone I know. People will even abuse drugs like Adderall because they feel as though it’s the only way to get work done.”  This speaks for itself, but I will add that I find it frankly disturbing that we encourage students to take 18 credits, have a job, and all while they’re figuring out who they are as a person.  

I tried to find the common ingredient for how people managed their health and determined that people find, “talking to a loved one who is supportive,” and, “making time for friends,” to be the most helpful.  Social life is important, and opening up to people who truly care about you is the real thing that is essential, not necessarily college.