Depression and suicide in LGBTQ College students
According to Watson E. (2013), statistics by Dr. George Krudk in 2012 confirmed that many students are suffering from depression and anxiety. The results show that at least 44% of the students have reported having experienced mental health-related symptoms, the third leading cause of death among the students is a suicide, and unfortunately, 75% of the ill students do not come out to seek the necessary help they need. Based on the study, the symptoms vary depending on the patient. For instance, there are patients who find difficulties in sleeping, and some cannot keep friendships. Bad break up with their partners, financial challenges, and academic challenges are some of the reasons they experience such.
Students who are undergoing mental health challenges are at risk of being involved in substance abuse, access guns, and are exposed to other students who might have exposed to suicide. It is worth noting that too many people, the college has been a stressful environment for most of the young students and not a place where they learn, grow, and discover themselves. Unfortunately, the current economic conditions and the heartbreaks are making the environment to be more of a stressful place than it is expected to be. The author states the fact that many students fail to report matters of mental illness and suicide because of the social stigma that has been associated with it.
It is important that students are encouraged to face school life with much ease to avoid sliding into depression. Besides, there is the need to learn how to handle matters of relationships because breakups tend to interfere with their concentration in school. Besides, accepting rejection is another possible way to deal with broken expectations that may lead to depression.
According to the article by Foxcroft et al. (2015), drinking in youths is influenced by their peers. Young adults believe that that is the correct way to take. However, it is evident that the perceptions are not right, and they are messing themselves. It is evident that the drinking among young individuals would decrease if the perceptions they have can be changed. Besides, if they continue with the perception that they currently have, then cases of drinking among the youths will not end anytime soon since it is something that they are learning from their peers.
The authors understand the fact that drinking is a common issue among young people in colleges and are therefore looking at the possible ways in which the issue can be minimized. Therefore, the study looked into the possibility of reducing negative alcohol consequences through social norms. The authors engaged the use of previous literature on the same topic to help in comparing the information. Data was collected as expected, and the information obtained was shared through emails. The results show that social norms have little and close to nil impact on the negative impacts associated with drinking. Therefore, it is evident that social norms cannot be used as a means of controlling drinking perception among the youths in society.
Based on the article by Staff (2019), the students who identify as members of LGBT face numerous challenges and risks. Although acceptance may be different according to communities and also there is an increase in the people accepting the in the society, such people still not receive the same treatment in the society. For instance, they have experienced exclusion and intimidation when it comes to matters of housing. In most cases, houses are given to people of specific groups, and the members of LGBT may end up getting them at the higher process. Unfortunately, there are no federal protections that have been issued to deal with the matters of houses and sexual orientation.
Besides, the people who identify as members of LGBT are not allowed to socially interact with other people within the college environment. The harassment that they face on matters related to their sexual orientation is a challenge to their wellbeing within the institutions. Because of their sexual orientation, these young individuals fear for their safety because they are always the target. It, therefore, makes it so hard for them to walk around and interact with others; hence they end up locking themselves in the house. Such isolation leads to several thoughts going through the minds of the individuals, and they begin to question themselves, which causes more harm to their health. Hence the reason why most college students end up with depression and other mental illnesses.
There is a risk of harassment and bullying that the members of LGBT face. According to the statistics provided by the author, at least there have been reports of receiving sexual harassment by three LGBT members. It is evident that such pressure and harassment exposes young individuals to depression because they do not have better ways to deal with the stress that they are exposed to besides people of color who identify as members of LGBT face more risk of being assaulted sexually. It is important that legislative measures are put in place to ensure that such people are protected because the pressure they undergo sends them to depression.
In the study by 1Gamm et al. (2010), Educational and Community-Based Programs are necessary to help in achieving the 2020 Healthy People objectives. Such programs help in spreading the information into the interior parts so that it can reach as many people as possible. According to the article, this will help in spreading the information about depression and mental illness among the students to the remote areas. This helps in enlightening the people on matters concerning their health whereby they will understand some of the symptoms associated with it, the possible challenges, and the ways in which they can avoid them.
References
1Gamm L, Castillo G, Williams L. Education, and community-based programs in rural areas: A literature review. In: Rural Healthy People 2010: A companion document to Healthy People 2010, Volume 3. Gamm L, Hutchison L, editors. College Station, TX: The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center, School of Rural Public Health, Southwest Rural Health Research Center; 2004. p.167-86
Foxcroft, D. R., Moreira, M. T., Santimano, N. M. A., & Smith, L. A. (2015). Social norms information for alcohol misuse in university and college students. Cochrane database of systematic reviews, (12).
Staff, T. (2019, May 7). Key issues are impacting LGBTQ+ college students. TheBestSchools.org. https://thebestschools.org/resources/lgbtq-college-students-issues
Watson E. (2013)”Depression, Mental Illness and Suicide Among College Students a Harsh Reality – Higher Education.” Higher Education News and Jobs. Accessed March 18, 2021. https://diverseeducation.com/article/53365/.