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Ultimate Guide to College Student Mental Health

College is a fun and exciting chapter in life, but it is also a time to learn to handle adult responsibilities, added stress and expectations, and dealing with people whose belief system differs from your own for the first time. Counseling centers on college campuses in those seeking help for mental health issues. In all, anxiety is reported as the most common mental health concern, but other conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders and sleep problems are all highly reported on college campuses.

We hope these resources will help you to find help if you need it and learn how to advocate for yourself on your college campus. We’ve also included resources specific to various communities, as well as some resources we find helpful relating to emotional intelligence and mindfulness, which lay at the core of our beliefs at Command Education.

Anxiety

Anxiety and Depression Association of America

This Anxiety & Depression Association of America site discusses various topics, including fighting anxiety, finding a therapist, mental health issues and how to fight Covid-related anxiety.

Active Minds

Active Minds is a site dedicated to suicide prevention, helping students find help when they’re depressed or anxious.

Anxiety in college: What we know and how to cope

Active Minds is a site dedicated to suicide prevention, helping students find help when they’re depressed or anxious.

National Institute of Mental Health

The National Center on Mental Health offers information about mental health issues and how to recognize them.

National Alliance on Mental Illness

The National Alliance on Mental Illness offers an in-depth site on various types of mental anxieties and ways individuals can cope.

Social Anxiety Disorder: More Than Just Shyness

The National Institute on Mental Health offers information on how to recognize social anxiety disorder and it differs from shyness.

Social Anxiety

This article, published by the Counseling Center at the University of Washington, describes how to recognize social anxiety symptoms and how to deal with them.

Managing Test Anxiety

The Counseling and Psychological Services at Brown University offer information on test anxiety, as well as how students can deal with test anxiety and possible causes of the disorder.

ULifeline

Ulifeline offers valuable information on how to deal with anxiety, and also offers a hotline students and young adults can reach out to for help.

Depression

National Network of Depression Centers

The National Network of Depression Centers is a network of professionals who offer help to college students and other individuals who are depressed and in need of help or just someone to talk to.

College depression: What parents needs to know

This article through the Mayo Clinic provides helpful resources on college depression, including what it is, its causes and what parents can do to help.

Shareable Resources on Depression

The National Institute on Mental Health offers a variety of resources about depression, mental health, chronic illness and depression.

Office of Women’s Health

This Office of Women’s Health (OASH) site offers information on depression and various other mental health issues like anxiety, bipolar disorders, eating disorders and more.

NYC Health

NYC Health is an organization that provides readers with information on depression, including symptoms of depression, dealing with depression and who depressed individuals can call for help.

Suicide Prevention Resource Center

The Suicide Prevention Resource Center offers training, programs, articles and other resources on suicide,suicide prevention and how to recognize signs of severe depression.

College & Bipolar: Strategies for Success

BPHope is a site that offers valuable information on bipolar disorder, as well as how it affects college students and how to get help.
 

Eating Disorders

Academy for Eating Disorders

This Academy for Eating Disorders site offers information and many unknown facts about eating disorders, as well as the psychological issues that can arise from eating disorders.

ANAD

The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) offers helpful information about eating disorders, as well as a support mentor program for those suffering from eating disorders.

Eating Disorders: About more than food

The National Institute of Mental Health offers various helpful articles on eating disorders, where individuals can get help, and how they’re treated.

Eating Disorders and College

Eating Disorders and College is an informative article from the Child Mind Institute discussing the ways college life can promote or cause eating disorders.
 

Helplines

Substance Abuse Treatment Finder

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration site offers information about the organization’s active hotline, including how it works and what it can do to help.

Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255

This article offers information on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a group of individuals trained to help troubled individuals and those contemplating suicide.

Crisis Textline

The Crisis Text Line is a site about an organization that offers a 24/7 hotline  individuals anywhere in the United States can call to be connected with a professional.

Eating Disorder Helpline

This National Eating Disorders Association article offers a hotline allowing troubled people to call, text or email professionals and get the information and help they need.

LBGT National Help Center

The LGBT National Help Center is a site that offers help and advice to members of the LGBT community who are suffering from anxiety, depression or other mental health issues.

Teen Health and Wellness

The Teen Health and Wellness is a site that offers emergency numbers people can call regarding various issues, including alcohol and drugs, bullying, stress and anxiety, rape, anxiety.
 

Sleep Disorders

Sleep problems in university students – an intervention

The National Institute of Health, a part of the US National Library of Medicine, offers a scholarly journal about sleep disorders college students suffer from, and how these disorders can affect their mental health and school success.

14 Things to Try for Better Sleep

Campus Mind Works is an organization that works to provideUniversity of Michigan students with access to academic and mental health resources.

SleepWell: Resources to help you sleep like a saint!

This article by the College of St. Scholastica offers resources regarding the value of sleep and how lack of it can cause mental health issues and learning problems.

Improving Sleep from Dartmouth

The Academic Skills Center at Dartmouth offers valuable information about the effects of sleeping disorders and ways to improve sleep.

Hot Topics! College Students and Sleep

Geneseo, a State University of New York school, offers an article on ways to fight insomnia and how to make the most of the sleep you do get.

Shut-Eye 101: Online Program Helps College Students Sleep

This Michigan Health site offers various articles about sleep deprivation, developing good sleep habits and ways to promote good health management.

Sleep Deprivation

This Villanova University article talks about sleep deprivation,causes of sleep deprivation, and how to improve the quality of your sleep.

Sleep Rocks

This article, published by the University Health Center at the University of Georgia talks about how people everywhere, including college students, are sleeping less and suffering the consequences.

Sleep and Memory

GetSleep is a site that offers valuable information about the importance of sleep and the role sleeping disorders have on a person’s memory.

Sleep Statistics for U.S. Adults

This Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) article provides valuable information about sleeping disorders, and graphs detailing which  groups of people suffer the most and which suffer the least from sleep deprivation.
 

Accommodations and How to Ask for Accommodations 

Managing a Mental Health Condition in College

The National Alliance on Mental Illness offers information about how to choose a college and how to prepare for college if you know you have a mental illness.

Your Rights in College: Students with Mental Health Impairments

This site offers valuable information about the rights of students with disabilities in North Carolina that are applicable in many states, and what students with mental health issues can expect in high school and college.

Accommodations for Disabilities

The Anxiety & Depreciation Association of America (ADAA) provides readers with information about how college students with mental illnesses can find accommodations and what laws protect them.

Documentation Guidelines for Psychiatric Disorders

The Services for Students with Disabilities offers guidelines students with psychiatric disorders should follow when seeking accommodations in college.

Accommodating Students with Psychiatric Disabilities in the Post Secondary Environment

This site is dedicated to post-secondary schools and students and offers information about how schools can accommodate students with psychiatric disabilities while complying with the law.

Academic Accommodations for Postsecondary Students with Mental Health Disabilities

This Journal of Post-Secondary Education and Disability article offers information about how Canadian schools can accommodate students with psychiatric disabilities.

Mental Health on College Campuses

This article, published by the National Council on Disability, provides information about mental health on college campuses, including information about disability laws for college students and what protection they offer. 
 

LGBTQ Resources for Mental Health

Mental Health Needs Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This Science Direct article discusses the mental health issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly for members of the LGBTQ community. the special needs of these individuals.

Use of Mental Health Services Among College Students by Sexual Orientation

This scholarly journal discusses the various mental health services used by college students based on their sexual orientation.

LGBTQI

This article by the National Alliance on Mental Illness talks about how the LGBTQ community faces a higher rate of mental illness and where they can seek help, and how to find the right mental health care professional.

Mental Health and the LGBTQ Community

The Human Rights Campaign article details the prevalence of mentalhealth issues among members of the LGBTQ community resulting from the discrimination and the stigma associated with their lifestyles.

Transgender College Students Face Enormous Mental Health Disparities

This article, published by the Boston University School of Public Health, outlines about the mental health problems faced by transgender college students.

Creating Safe Space for GLBTQ Youth: A Toolkit

The Advocates for Youth organization offers ideas on how LGBTQ youth can find safe places to improve their mental health and better succeed in school and in life.

Safe and Supportive Schools Toolkit

The Safe & Supportive Schools Project, part of the American Psychological Association, strives to provide schools tools for creating safe and supportive educational environments.

Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals

The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals is an organization committed to helping provide LGBTQ students the freedom and rights they deserve.

The Trevor Project

The Trevor Project is a 24/7 crisis prevention hotline troubled children and young adults can call to speak freely without fear of judgement.

Minority Mental Health Resources

Trust, belonging, keys to mental health of students of color

This article in the Harvard Gazette talks about the mental health stigma can cause discrimination and racial problems with student of race.

Mental Health in Minority Student Populations

This National Association for College Admission Counseling article discusses the  minority student population’s mental health issues like ADHD, depression and anxiety disorders.

College students of color more likely to have unmet mental health needs

The Medical Journal of Healio Psychiatry discusses the impact of mental health issues and how they are more likely to affect college students of color.

The Emotional Toll of Racism

This Inside Higher Ed article talks about the emotional toll racism can have on a student’s mental health and the importance of colleges addressing this important issue.

Racial Disparities in Nationwide Mental Health Services for College Students

This article through Boston University’s journal, The Brink, provides information on the disparities faced by students of color due to mental health problems.

Asian American/Pacific Islander Communities and Mental Health

Mental Health America is a community-based organization that focuses on improving the mental health situation in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.

Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective

Black Emotional and Mental Health is a group of professionals committed to improving the mental and emotional health of individuals in black communities.

Disarming racial microaggressions: Microintervention strategies for targets, White allies, and bystanders

Semantic Scholar is a scholarly journal that talks about how harmful racial discrimination can be to people of color and offers ways to discourage and eliminate the problem.

Mental Health Resources for the Latinx Community

Hiplatina is a site that offers various mental health resources to help Latinas coping with mental health illness.

Model Minority Stereotype for Asian Americans

This article, published by the UT-Austin Counseling and Mental Health Center, offers information on the cultural expectations placed on Asian Americans and the damage these expectations can cause.

Mental Healthcare for Invisible Barriers

Hurdle is an organization providing cultural and evidence based therapy,  connecting patients to professionals committed to helping diverse populations.  .

Filling our Cups: 4 Ways People of Color can Foster Mental Health and Practice Restorative Healing

Threads of Solidarity: Women of Color (WOC) Against Racism is a website inviting women of color to speak freely and obtain the help they need.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America Mental Health Resources for the Black Community

This ADAA article discusses what can be done to help members of theblack community  suffering from mental health issues, including anxiety or depression and lists  resources they need to lead happier and more stress-free lives.

Mindfulness Resources 

UC San Diego School of Medicine Mindfulness and Compassion Resources

UC San Diego’s Center for Mindfulness offers various resources in the form of videos, audios, courses and programs to promote better mental health to individuals and to community members.

How to Reduce Stress Through Mindfulness

The Health Aging & Physical Disability Rehabilitation Research and Training Center offers valuable information about mindfulness and how to use mindfulness to reduce stress in our lives.

Headspace (app)

Headspace is an app that offers various videos and information about meditation and how it can be used to relieve stress during a crisis. Students can get free access during Covid-19.

Insight Timer (app)

Insight Timer is an app that offers guided meditations, podcasts, live sessions and more to help people get relief from stress, anxiety and sleeplessness.

Calm (app)

Calm is an app that offers ways to improve health and enhance happiness by reducing stress, improving sleep habits, improving focus and providing better mental health overall.

Stop, Breathe, Think with MyLife (app)

My Life offers various ways to develop a customized mindfulness solution based on your particular mood at any given time.

Brilliant Mindfulness: How the mindful approach can help you towards a better life (book)

Brilliant Mindfulness by Cheryl Rezek is an instructional book about how to implement mindfulness into your life, accessible even to beginners.

The Happiness Trap: Stop Struggling, Start Living (book)

The Happiness Trap uses the six principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help you reduce stress and worry, build a meaningful life, break self-defeating habits and more.
 

EQ/EI Resources

Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence

The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence offers research, courses and training on emotional intelligence and how it can be used to improve all areas of our lives.

What’s the Value of EQ in Higher Ed?

The Fielding Graduate University social emotional intelligence offers degrees, training programs and webinars about the importance of including social emotional intelligence in a school curriculum.

Marc Brackett on EQ

Marc Brackett is a professor at Yale University, a published author and the founder and director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. He is a huge proponent of exploring the role emotions and emotional intelligence play in learning.

Christopher Rim and Marc Brackett on EQ

Christopher Rim, Founder of Command Education and Marc Brackett have a discussion on EQ and how to control and manage emotions throughout a stressful process such as college applications.

Dartmouth Student Wellness Center

The Student Wellness Center at Dartmouth University offers information about emotional intelligence, ways to increase emotional intelligence, and how to use it to improve our emotional and physical well-being.

Emotional Intelligence in Higher Education

Pikmykid is a site with helpful information about emotional intelligence as well as why it’s so important to implement it into higher education.

Emotional Intelligence Assessments for Higher Education

This website offers information on the importance of emotional intelligence, including what it is and how it can help a college student be more successful while in college.

The EQ Factor in Student Retention and Success: From Theory to Practice

The online site offers a workshop on emotional intelligence and the role it plays in student retention and graduation.

Six Seconds

Six Seconds, offered through the Emotional Intelligence Network, talks about how social emotional learning can benefit colleges and universities and in turn help students succeed.