Mental health refers to psychological wellbeing. Its key components are one’s behavioral and emotional state. The endeavor is also a subjective state in that one must be by themselves satisfied that they are okay. While most medical diagnoses are dependent on external observation and lab tests, for mental health, the patient’s feelings are considered. However, it is notable that there exist different medical theories and perspectives on mental health. Depression is among the current leading mental health disorders for adult college girls
Healthy People 2020 Goal and Objectives
As per the Healthy People 2020 on mental health, the goal is to improve mental health. This is to be achieved through prevention coupled with ensuring access to quality and appropriate mental health services (US Dept of Health Services, 2019). Within the population, there are set objectives, which when achieved are indicators of success in this field. They include but are not limited to the reduction of both suicide rates and suicide attempts by adult college girls, and reduction in the proportion of college girls aged 18 and above who experience major depressive episodes. Other objectives include increasing the number of college girls that are screened for depression by primary healthcare workers and increasing the number of girls on treatment for mental health issues.
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Current Trends on Mental Health for College Girls
Mental health and mental disorders among college girls of adult age continue to soar in the United States (Henriques, 2018).Depression is the leading mental disorder in this age group. Anxiety is also high and a key disturbance on the metal health of ladies. These two conditions have been known to aggravate to major depressive episodes with girls committing or attempting suicide as a result of inability to deal with depression. Suicide secondary to depression is currently the second most common cause of death for college girls. The total number of girls within this age bracket committing suicide double between 2007 and 2015. Men, however, still commit more suicide than girls. The American College Health Association states that one in three students seek mental health services in their centers of whom a majority are ladies (ACHA, 2019). The health-seeking behavior of ladies help reduce possible suicide among them since most men hardly seek help
Causes of Depression
The key drivers for the high statistics include, among other things, the increased academic demands and the dynamics of social relationships girls at this stage go through. Most girls begin to get into serious relationships at about this age. Consequentially, failures and frustrations from their partners are a possible stressor (Pedrelli, 2015). Lifestyle habits such as eating, sleeping, and sexual activity for most girls within this age set begin to trigger maladaptive development. The trend typifies why substance abuse issues are also highly prevalent among college girls.
At Risk Populations for Depression
Among the college girls population, those from dysfunctional families, as well as those pursuing science-based courses have been found to be more predisposed; thus, at a higher risk (Auerbach, 2016). This is due to the inadequate support structure and increased academic demands respectively. Science courses exert an additional demand on students, which leaves them exhausted sometimes. In a bid to offset this, some students get into substance abuse, which leads to their detriment. When processing difficulties, family is a central pillar; in its absence of such a support system, one is likely to be overly affected.
Evidence Based Public Health Education
Crucial evidence-based public health education practices include use of social media campaigns to create awareness. Training of counselors in such a way that they can easily communicate with young girls without looking boring and unapproachable. The use of celebrities to conduct the training has been found to be effective. Another critical strategy is use of Youtube advertisements to carry out awareness. These methods are tailor-made for the target population and have an appeal.
Organizations that Deal with Depression
Several organizations are involved in the provision of mental health services and advocacy. Kennesaw State University offers counseling and psychological services Ray of Hope counseling services is open to residents of Kennesaw. The West Central Georgia regional hospital has a mental health clinic in Columbus. National Alliance on Mental health with locations all over USA leads at the national front with the World Health Organization headquartered in Geneva leading global efforts.
References
ACHA. (2019, October 11). Mental Health . Retrieved from AMERICAN COLLEGE HEALTH ASSOCIATION: https://www.acha.org/acha/resources/topics/MentalHealth.ASPX
Auerbach, R. P. (2016). Mental disorders among college students in the world health organization world mental health surveys. Psychological Medicine 46 , 2955-2970.
Henriques, G. (2018). The College Student Mental Health Crisis Update. Psychology Today .
Pedrelli, P. (2015). College students: mental health problems and treatment considerations. Academic Psychiatry , 503-511.
US department of human services. (2019, October 11). Mental Health and Mental Disorders . Retrieved from Healthy People. Gov: https://healthypeople.gov/2020/topic/mental-health-and-mental-disorders
