This is a sponsored post. I was compensated by Med-IQ through an educational grant from Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. and Lundbeck to write about depression in college-aged students. All opinions are my own.
I’ve been teaching undergrads for the past six years and every year, I see kids wrestle with mental illness while also trying to manage the transition from adolescence to adulthood. This is hard stuff and even kids who have no history of these issues can get to college and start to struggle due to stress, loneliness, feelings of FOMO, the ill effects of sleeping less (kids get to college and start keeping crazy hours and this impacts their ability to self regulate), and partying (using drugs and alcohol occasionally or regularly).
There are also a lot of kids who find themselves in the role of counselor to a friend or roommate who is struggling. This is real - young people (especially college freshmen) are more likely turn to a peer than a parent, professor or advisor.
Here are five tips that can help families with a student transitioning from high school to college. The goal is independence and self-advocacy - that kids can become more aware of how they’re feeling and know how to manage their mental health as they become adults. College is the perfect place to do that.
