College pressures, a pandemic, and isolated learning online can test anyone's mental health. AcademicInfluence.com provides a helpful student guide for addressing the most commonly experienced challenges…

GEORGETOWN, KENTUCKY, UNITED STATES, January 13, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- College is stressful under normal circumstances. But attending college online during a pandemic has ratcheted up both the social impact and academic pressure for many students, leading to a growing crisis in student mental health.

To address this need for student self-care during difficult times, Inflection–the opinion, editorial, and news analysis journal of AcademicInfluence.com–offers a guide to mental wellness for students managing the unique challenges of attending college online:

Don’t Neglect Your Mental Health While Getting Your Online Education

The need is all too real and widespread. In October 2021, The Washington Post reported that a national mental health study by Pennsylvania State University’s Center for Collegiate Mental Health examined data on 43,000 college students treated in fall 2020 at 137 counseling centers. Pandemic and lockdown effects reported included negative effects on mental health (72%), motivation or focus impairment (68%), and feelings of loneliness or isolation (67%).

“The pandemic only added to an already troubling student mental health crisis. Enforced seclusion, educational detachment, and the constant threat of illness—it can all be overwhelming for a lot of students,” says article author and Inflection chief editor Dave Tomar. “Worse is the gradual way in which mental wellness can deteriorate. Students and their families can easily miss the telltale signs of a mounting mental health crisis. One day, you’re juggling your assignments just fine, and the next, the thought of having to read a couple pages in a textbook sends you into despair. Our team created this guide to help students develop workable coping skills, access critical resources, and take other important steps to protect and preserve their mental health.”

The guide unpacks the current crisis in student mental health, examining how ordinary challenges have been compounded by the pandemic and the sudden shift to online learning. Four commonly reported pain points receive attention, both from a mental health perspective and from the vantage point of taking classes online. Each of the following challenges is outlined and paired with readily actionable solutions:
• Zoom fatigue
• Feelings of isolation
• Loss of boundaries between home- and school-life
• Loss of direct mental health support

“The lack of face-to-face interaction with professors and caring peers puts students at a disadvantage, as they experience fewer social interactions with people who might recognize the signs of depression, anxiety, and loneliness in the student,” says Tomar. “Our guide provides the information students need to identify sources of potential stress and take steps to maintain their own mental health—while helping them continue to work toward their scholastic goals.”

AcademicInfluence.com is the preeminent, technology-driven, academic rankings site dedicated to students, researchers, and inquirers from high school through college and beyond, offering outstanding resources and better rankings for a better education. (Visit the AcademicInfluence.com About page for further details on the capabilities and advantages of this unique ranking technology and on the people who make it possible.) AcademicInfluence.com is a part of the EducationAccess group, a family of sites dedicated to lifelong learning and personal growth.

Jed Macosko, Ph.D.
AcademicInfluence.com
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