Mental Health Minute: College students

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — College is a critical time for young adults and brings plenty of stress.

That’s the focus of this week’s Mental Health Minute.

A new study from Harmony Hit Healthcare found that 46% of college students have been diagnosed with mental health conditions.

Katie Simonds, a counselor at the College of Southern Idaho, said the school sees a greater need for students to utilize mental health services.

However, with only two counselors on campus, appointments get booked up quickly, and in-person appointments are not easy to come by.

“I mean, I could come up with probably 50 things off the top of my head that would stress people out at this current moment,” said Katie Simonds, a mental health counselor at CSI. “We’re in an election year, the thing in Gaza, hurricanes are trying to take out the East Coast and then there’s school.”

Simonds said despite all those stressors, students now are more likely to reach out for help.

“This is also an age group that was given a vocabulary for mental health and so they are not suffering in silence which is awesome right the stigma has been reduced. It isn’t totally gone but people are more comfortable talking about it and that in turn gets them to services faster.”

If you know someone struggling, Simonds stressed that resources are available.

In extreme cases, people who are feeling suicidal can dial 988 to speak with someone at the suicide and crisis lifeline.

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