Mental Health Needs Increasing at Colleges

The New York Times is reporting an increase in the mental health needs of college students. A rising need for suicide intervention, counseling and hospitalizations are popping up across the country. One can’t help but wonder what is causing depression in students and other mental health disorders.
Bullying is a problem among all age groups. The moment you place a group of people together (whether they are three years old or in college) there will be bullies. Toy-snatching and cooties turn into fear and ignorance as we get older. We now know that the acceptance of others can play a huge role in our own mental health. One should never depend on approval from somebody else, but safety and comfort shouldn’t be sacrificed either. Anti-bullying campaigns are popping up everywhere as people start to realize the vital importance of treating each other well.

Students face too much pressure. From the womb, we want our children to excel. It’s great to have high hopes for the next generation but at some point we need to step back and remember that they are only kids and that we’re all human. Making mistakes and being imperfect is part of life and it’s what makes it so exciting to live. If we constantly strive for perfection then we’ll constantly be letting ourselves down.
Alcohol and drug use is inadvertently accepted as “part of the college experience.”Although I agree that it kind of is, any drug (including alcohol) can cause serious damage when it is abused. Chemical imbalances can be aggravated by drugs and alcohol. All of a sudden, something that makes you feel so good and erases all your worries, is contributing to a back-and-forth roller coaster of destructive behavior.
Advances in medicine are allowing more mentally unstable students to seek higher education. Students with depression, ADHD and other mental-health disorders are now able to function more highly in society, which allows them to pursue a college degree. Clearly, this will directly affect the percentage of college students being treated for such disorders.
What do you think is behind the rise in mental healthcare intervention?