Student stress levels have reached an all-time high at the University of Windsor, but a new team is place to help.
It's one of the reasons why the University has established a new Assessment and Care Team - put in place to help faculty and staff respond to students struggling with emotional or mental health issues.
“Numbers I haven't seen in past 10 years, “says the director of the university's Student Counselling centre Mohsan Beg. “We had six walk-in crisis yesterday alone.”
In the last week, the Beg says more than a hundred students have come in, looking for help.
“Everything from home sickness to burgeoning severe mental illness,” says Beg.
One fourth year student, who runs track and field with the Lancers, has felt the pressure of University life over the years.
“Balancing a full time job, trying to make money and doing extra-curriculars – it’s a big transition,” says Jordan Miguel Langridge Torres. “Coming out of high school, I wasn't ready for it.”
Demand for services at the counselling centre has jumped about 167 per cent over the last 15 years. In 1999, they saw about 300 students a year. Last year, that number reached 800.
It’s not just the numbers that are going up, Beg says the severity of cases is increasing too.
“In our office and we keep stats,” says Beg. “About 25 per cent of the students that come in are having some level of suicidal thinking.”
Part of it can be attributed to greater mental health awareness, but Beg says more students are carrying the pressures of the economic downturn with them, into the classroom.
Beg is part of the university's new Aassessment and Care Team, put in place to give staff and faculty a centralized place to go to get help for any student who needs it.
“Think of it as a safety net,” says Beg. “Where students can be referred. That someone is going to look after them, support them, set them up with proper resources and get them the help they need.”
Experts say balance is key and students must learn proper time management, to keep them from having a mental health collapse.
Beg says it’s important that students talk about the stress in their lives, so it doesn't pile up.
By dealing with issues early on, he says individuals can be taught how to manage them, ultimately preventing minor things from becoming major issues.
