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Mental Health

Signs & Symptoms

Recognizing when someone you know is struggling can help you be a beacon of light in their darkness. It is imperative to be able to see something and say something. Depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicidal ideation have all increased in prevalence in the past two decades (Duffy et al., 2019). In college students specifically, severe mental health symptoms often lead to poor academic performance (Jeffries & Salzer, 2022). To address this rise in mental health problems, awareness of signs and symptoms is vital.  

Sad on Couch

Signs

Struggling with mental illness can be visible. Here are some tell-tale signs that someone is battling with their mind (Anthony, 2022):

  • Poor academic or work performance

  • Substance abuse

  • Withdrawal

  • Changes in sleep or appetite patterns

  • Apathy or increased sensitivity

  • Changes in behavior

Symptoms

No one knows a person the way they know themselves. Exhibiting these feelings and symptoms can be evident of mental health issues (Mental illness, 2022):

  • Feeling more upset or down than usual

  • Excessively worrying

  • Suicidal ideation

  • Finding it more difficult to concentrate 

  • Feeling excessively angry or violent

  • Detaching from reality

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Student Looking at Building

References

Anthony, T. (2022). Warning signs of mental illness. American Psychiatric Association. Retrieved from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/warning-signs-of-mental-illness 

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Duffy, M. E., Twenge, J. M., & Joiner, T. B. (2019). Trends in mood and anxiety symptoms and suicide-related outcomes among U.S. undergraduates, 2007-2018:

      Evidence from two national surveys. Journal of Adolescent Health, 65(5), 590-598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.04.033 

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Jeffries, V., & Salzer, M. S. (2022). Mental health symptoms and academic achievement factors. Journal of American College Health, 70(8), 2262-2265. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2020.1865377 

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Mental illness. (2022). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mental-illness/symptoms-causes/syc-20374968 

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