. Research Blog #2

Blog #2

1. Since Blog post number one, my topic choice has remained the same. I am absolutely committed to  the research of how mental health, good or bad, affects the college experience. I will probably focus on mental illness and how people cope with mental illness, academics, and a social life in comparison to "normal" students.
2. Interesting material seems to come up with the terms, "Mental Illness and College" Various resources come up, mostly talking about what illnesses are most common in college. There is a lot of talk about depression as the most common mental illness. With the key terms "Mental Health and college", many of the resources are about screening for mental illness in college students. Both seem to bring up really similar results. Finally "Resources for college students with mental Illnesss", brings up resources on how to help the struggling students.
3. Upon searching "mental illness on google", I came across many promising resources. There's an article titled, "How to Deal With Mental Illness in College" http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2014/03/26/learn-how-to-deal-with-mental-illness-in-college. This could be a good starting point on resources available to those with mental illness or even solution options.

There was also Mental Illness: a Hot Topic on College Campuses http://www.mainlinetoday.com/Main-Line-Today/October-2014/Mental-Illness-A-Hot-Topic-on-College-Campuses/. This is another resource on the ways mental illness affects college students.

Another good resource would be "How Colleges Flunk Mental Health" http://www.newsweek.com/2014/02/14/how-colleges-flunk-mental-health-245492.html. This article deals with the commonness of suicidal thoughts in college students and how mental health services help this or fail to help.

In the news articles, there are mostly studies of how college student's overall mental health has been steadily decreasing. The books that seem most promising are:
 1. College of the Overwhelmed: The Campus Mental Health Crisis and What to do About it by R Kadison and TF Digeronimo.
2. Mental Health of College Students and Their Non-College Attending Peers by Blanco. This one seems to be the bread and butter of the point I want to make.
3.D. Eisenberg's Mental Health Problems and Help-Seeking Behavior Among College Students

4. The resources I found just helped to solidify my interest in my topic as they seem to confirm that there is a problem with mental illness and the way it is dealt with in a college setting. I really want to dig into the effects of mental illness, focusing on the stigma, juggling the workload, dealing with the many stressors of college, and trying to have a social life on top of everything.
6. I have yet to see any counter argument for my topic as it seems to be a relatively recent topic. Mental illness is often hushed in college and students often suffer in silence. People seem to think that many of the common symptoms for mental illness, mostly depression, are normal for college students. The rise of suicides in colleges have people paying attention and taking mental health serious now. It is important that people be informed of mental illness and how common it is in college as well as that there be resources available to students.