University of Guelph counsellor discusses, root cause unclear
A children and youth mental health survey recently released by Ipsos Public Affairs says that nearly half of all young people aged 18 to 24 in Ontario have missed school due to anxiety, with six in 10 youth reporting concerns about their anxiety.
This may not come as a surprise to students at the University of Guelph, as mental health has been a popular topic since the loss of four students to suicide last year.
Since then, the school has taken some steps towards providing mental health support for students in need; in November, the U of G posted a progress report to their website.
According to Peter Wedel, a counsellor on the U of G campus, the number of students being diagnosed with mental health issues has doubled in the past five years. This dramatic increase could be due to positive factors, such as decreased stigma surrounding mental illness, which makes a person more likely to seek help, however, this does not explain the root cause of the anxiety.
Everyone experiences anxiety. It is a natural emotion and stems from a human’s innate freeze, fight, or flight instincts. Anxiety becomes a problem when it persists and interferes with everyday life. Anxiety can take many forms, such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, phobias, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The triggers can vary from person to person, which is why anxiety can take on many forms, but it all starts from the over-stimulation of that instinct in the face of something that isn’t actually life-threatening.
Some have argued that the rise of the internet and the use of mobile phones has contributed to an increase in anxiety because of over-stimulation and a lack of quietness in the mind. “We have had more change in the last 20 years since the beginning of the internet than in possibly hundreds of years,” Wedel stated. “Each change stimulates our amygdala, thereby causing increased adrenaline flow, increased alertness, and possible freeze/fight/flight response leading to the sense of hyper-alertness or a sense of feeling overwhelmed.”
Some of these stressors could be simple, like the vibration from your pocket telling you that you have a notification, or the rapid rate students are expected to process information and make decisions about their career paths.
The University of Guelph is hoping to improve the mental health standards they provide for their students, but even this may not help address the root issues at hand.
Photo by Alora Griffiths/The Ontarion