College students are very depressed. American colleges are increasingly dealing with severe psychological problems. According to an article by Trip Gabriel in the New York Times:
[SUNY] Stony Brook is typical of American colleges and universities these days, where national surveys show that nearly half of the students who visit counseling centers are coping with serious mental illness, more than double the rate a decade ago. More students take psychiatric medication, and there are more emergencies requiring immediate action.
According to one counselor at Stony Brook: “Now they’re bringing in life stories involving extensive trauma, a history of serious mental illness, eating disorders, self-injury, alcohol and other drug use.”
This should come as no surprise. Remember who these kids used to be? Well ten years ago they were those overmedicated elementary school kids people used to write about so extensively.
This is exactly what we might expect to happen when these kids discovered alcohol and marijuana, got less sleep, and suddenly had to deal with real stress. [Image via]
