Throughout the last week at Penn State Harrisburg, a documentary on college students’ mental health has been conducted by a group of students to raise the awareness of mental health issues among the student body.

Mental health issues have become more prevalent in the college environment over the past few years.

The documentary was originated by a group of three students: Perry Marinos, Minh Hoang, and Marco Pincay. The main goal of the documentary was to raise awareness on parents and professors of students’ current mental health as the rate of college students suffering from mental health issues has skyrocketed in recent years.

Ngan Van, a sophomore at Penn State Harrisburg mentioned how prominent depression has become over the years.

“Depression has ranked third in 2008 until now among other diseases,” said Van. “In 2023 or the near future it’s going to rank first and become one of the most serious problems.”

Mental health issues can significantly affect students’ connections with friends and family members as well as their quality of life, academic accomplishment, physical health and contentment with their college experience.

Students’ future careers, earning potential, and overall health may also be harmed as a result of these concerns.

Many college students say that mental health issues make it difficult for them to concentrate on their schoolwork. Lucas Parker, a sophomore at Penn State Harrisburg, describes how hard it is for students.

“All the pressure is put on college students, whether that’s with the schoolwork, outside job, family, and friends,” said Parker. “It is all pressuring, and this is one of the most important times of our life,” He added.

According to the American College Health Association’s 2015 study, the following mental health concerns severely impacted college students’ academic achievement in the previous year: Mood disturbances, suicide, eating disorders, and addiction. Mental health professionals stress the importance of talking about such issues, but students tend to consider these stresses as a normal part of college life.

Nevertheless, students, parents, and college staff need to understand that college students are usually under high pressure not only from the schoolwork, but other external sources. It is the responsibility of the students to protect their own health for the sake of their future and it is also the parents’ and school’s responsibility to help their children and students relieve the pressure they have been enduring throughout their college lives.