Is there really more stress now than during the Great Depression?
MARQUETTE -- A new study out of Chicago says that five times as many students today are dealing with stress as compared with students during the Great Depression.
"It's all very stressful! School is stressful!" said Liz Cissell, a senior at Northern Michigan University.
And whether or not today's young adults really do have it tougher than they did in the olden days, the first day of a new semester is certainly a stressful time.
"College-age in general requires you to be on your own, taking care of yourself physically and emotionally and making new friends and finding a new support group," said Marie Aho, Ph.D., Interim Director of Counseling and Consultation Services at NMU.
Students all have their own ways of dealing with these stressors.
"Organization. I'm really working on my organizational skills. And really, I always go to my teachers, any administration that can help me," Cissell said.
She's talking about administration like NMU's Counseling and Consultation Services Department. Last semester, the department saw a 25 percent jump in emergency services and 25 percent more students overall than the semester prior. They handle everything from depression and anxiety problems to alcohol use disorders and even some suicide thoughts, and Aho wants the students to know that her department is there to help.
"We want to get the word out that the University sponsors these counseling services free to the students to help them with their overall adjustment to their academic life."
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