Another semester begins and there's a new variant. Many students were already struggling with anxieties.
Pursuing a tertiary education has already been gruesome to most. Having to deal with high tuition costs, pressures to pass, or just the overall confusion on what degree to pursue.
These pressures combined with new variants of COVID-19 have been putting lots of college students under pressure. Texas universities and colleges in Central Texas reported an increase in mental health support among their students.
Neomi SaDiablo is a graduate student, mother and also works with Texas A&M Central Texas' Faculty.
SaDiablo said, “Because of COVID in itself stress had gone up significantly and I believe it’s the stress of not being able to control anything.” She added. “I'm just back on campus today believe it or not because of a COVID exposure, but we had to do the 5-day quarantine so it was like alright going to work."
It instances like SaDiablo's which makes students weary.
Dr. Sam Fiala is the Department Chair for the Counseling and Psychology department at Texas A&M Central Texas said, “If students are struggling and they don’t want to reach out, part of it is kind of stigma or embarrassment.”
According to the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 75 percent of mental health conditions begin before the age of 24.
Fiala provides information for those interested in going.
He says, “If you have insurance or your parents, a good first step is to contact the insurance company and find out the providers in your area that are covered.”
He also shared that students enrolled in university have already paid for the service in student fees.
