Mental disorder cases have been on the rise in the 21st century. More people are dying or instead committing suicide as they feel overwhelmed by their struggle to maintain a healthy mental environment. Various organizations have been established to counter this problem, both public and private institutions (Bonhomme et al. 2018). This paper seeks to address the mental health of college students in San Diego County, it explains; the definition, causes, impact, statistics of mental disorders in this community. The paper further explains the social problem and why the people of Sqn Diego find it a problem and how mental health has affected them as a society.
Mental health is defined as the well-being of the state of mind; it is when one is free from any mental illness. The World Health Organization describes mental health to include, the subjective well-being of a person and one’s capability and competence to understand and actualize their intellectual and emotional potential. When there is an unsuccessful performance of an individual’s mental function, he or she is said to be mentally impaired or having mental disorders ( Hunt & Eiseneberg,2010). The young adults, specifically college students, are the ones affected most by mental disorders in the world today. Mental disorders range from depression, suicidal thoughts and attempts, self- body harm.
Mental health can be traced back in the nineteenth century when William Sweetser came up with the term mental hygiene, which was defined by Isaac Ryan as the art of preserving the mind against all factors and influences that will impair its normal functioning. In 1892 mental hygiene movement was speared by Dorothy Dix, who took it upon herself to help people with mental disorders. During the twentieth century, mental hygiene was replaced with the term mental health, which is being used to date. During the 21st century, there has been more awareness on mental health and facilities have been opened to support and provide assistance to mental health patients, it is during his period that the American Psychiatric Association was established. Currently, there is more awareness of mental health, and people are seeking the help they need.
An example of how depression, self-body harm and suicidal thoughts impact the community is quite high. Firstly, most college students end up commuting suicide, causing a reduction in the population of the young resources in the community, which leads to the productivity of the community to reduce. Secondly, the mental health organizations charge a fee for their assistance, and the families may not afford the fees required leading them to get finances from the community leading to financial constraints and I economic burden on the community (Bonhomme et al. 2018). Thirdly, mental disorders also affect the community at a social level, and most people are afraid to associate with mental health patients because of their unpredictable behaviour and reaction to information.
In San Diego, there was a reported case of one of their students, Christian Ayala who committed suicide by drowning himself at Lake Murray. His body was found alongside a broken bottle of alcohol and suicidal notes of his reasons for taking his life. Christian was a jovial engineering student who was always in a good mood and made people around him laugh ( Hunt & Eiseneberg,2010). The mental disorder was quite heavy and took a toll on him, leading to him commuting suicide. This served as a wakeup call to the San Diego community, as there was realization of the neglect present among college students who suffer in silence due to lack of a platform to address the mental disorder problem.
The community of San Diego is quite conversant with the mental disorders among college students in the county. The community is aware of the various causes and the effects of adverse mental health on college students since they are one of the parties affected by the social problem. People of San Diego consider mental disorder as a problem because firstly, the number of youths who have lost their lives to mental disorder is quite high. It is critical to observe that when one is suffering from depression, the chances of them contemplating suicide is quite high. Attempted suicide is an escalation of depression. Secondly, most individuals are afraid and ashamed of seeking help, therefore, suffer in silence, and when help is sought, it is late for them to recover.
Another reason as to why the communities of San Diego consider mental health a problem is because of the increase rate of drug abuse among the population. Most of the youth are using drugs that are first prohibited and secondly they are exceeding the amount that is prescribed to any individual so that they can hide their struggle and drown their sorrows as they put it. What is not known to many youths is that they will experience more mental disorder, and their bodies will start to wear out (Bonhomme et al. 2018). For example, one who has been diagnosing with depression will abuse the drugs to a point where he cannot do without the drugs; addiction. The person will suffer from depression and addiction.
Social construction studies mental illness concerning the cultural concept of a community. It studies how the mental illness came about, how cultural concepts are applied, and how they change with time. Social construction differs from the traditional views of mental illness as they look into the cultural perspective of a society( Hunt & Eiseneberg,2010). In this light, there are specific communities that find it a taboo to talk about depression or one of the family members suffer from depression as it is considered bad luck. With time this perspective changed, as the community started embracing the idea of mental health and disorder positively. Social constructionist affects different populations differently due to the diversity of their cultural affiliations. The impact is widespread and more in specific locations than others. The impact is more in areas where the community that have the same cultural ideas on mental health have
The general causes of mental disorder among college students include: Decrease in their school grades, most students get stressed when they underperform in their studies, and if the failure persists they become depressed (Alderman et al. 2018). Secondly, societal expectations; most students strive to meet the community’s standards, and when this is not achieved, they feel like failures. Thirdly, financial constraints in their day to day lives, students suffer from student loans, rent and means of livelihood. Financial constraints affect the mental performance of students as they are in constant worry of how their college fees are paid, their accommodation and most importantly how they are going to survive in a new place and how to handle culture shock.
Every individual is in constant need of mental help; teenagers, youth and the elderly. Teenagers and youth are in more need of getting help and being educated on the value of mental health. According to Lido wellness institutions, the highest number of persons who seek their services are between the age of sixteen to thirty years old (( Hunt & Eiseneberg,2010).). The age bracket mainly consists of teenagers and youths, which means they are more vulnerable to mental illnesses. They are in schools, at home, and others are already receiving help from mental wellness organizations. There is a constant need of the police and hospitals to be alert as more people are attempting to take their life or self-body harm. On average, the police receive a total of twenty suicidal attempts. At the same time, hospitals have a higher number as they receive depression, addiction, bipolar and self-harm body issues daily.
San Diego’s data on mental health among college students is unique in comparison to other counties. One of the understandings derived from the data provided by the police, hospitals and mental wellness institutions (Bonhomme et al. 2018). mental health awareness is being given more attention than before due to the rise of mental disorders. The rise of mental disorder cases among college students has also led to the increase of mental institutions that offer free therapeutic sessions for students who cannot afford them and live within their community. This has enabled more students and people of the county of San Diego to seek help even with no fee and early in its stage.
Each population has a need, and the needs vary in every population. This is the same case with mental health among college students in every population. The social need to address it varies; differently, the causes may be the same, but in each population, a particular cause of mental disorder stands out more. Besides, depression has been on the rise more than the other examples of mental disorders such as attempted suicide instances and self-body harm in San Diego. It is for this reason that there are more mental wellness centres built in Southern California to curb this and formation of mental awareness clubs in the schools especially colleges ((Alderman et al. 2018)). Diversity of population also has an impact on how the social need is addressed, in specific communities the age bracket is quite crucial as the elderly may be more than the younger people which means the approach taken is different.
Mental disorders cases are on the rise, depression being the highest type of mental illness among the people. College students are the most affected with mental illnesses around the world and in this case, San Diego County. The causes of mental disorders are addressed adequately as well as the impact in the community. Mental health patients have faced discrimination at their work, homes and school. This paper has established how there is a social need to address mental health among college students and how the issue is addressed differently depending on the population. The paper has explained the concept of mental illness in San Diego and why the community consider it a problem. It has also discussed the data provided by the law enforcement officers and medical practitioners in San Diego and its uniqueness to other counties.
References
Walters, K. S., Bulmer, S. M., Troiano, P. F., Obiaka, U., & Bonhomme, R. (2018). Substance use, anxiety, and depressive symptoms among college students. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse, 27(2), 103-111.
Downs, N., Alderman, T., Bhakta, S., & Greenwood, T. A. (2019). Implementing a college mental health program–An overview of the first twelve months. Journal of American college health, 67(1), 27-31.