College Students and Mental Health

College students are struggling with their mental health, and experts say the situation has become a crisis.

For Qutaiba Abbood, in his third year at UA Little Rock, college isn't just about passing classes. It's about proving himself as an adult. Paying his own way through school means every assignment carries extra weight and emotional pressure.

"The main pressure for me is getting good grades. I'm paying my way through school, and I want to make good grades, so that isn't for nothing. This puts a lot of pressure on me to do well, and often that feels paralyzing."

The numbers are striking. More than half of college students meet the criteria for at least one mental health concern, according to the 2024-25 Healthy Minds study. This is happening even as universities have added more counseling services and public conversation around mental health has grown.

Academic pressure, financial stress, anxiety, loneliness, and substance abuse are among the biggest contributors. The impact on campus is real.

Julio Gobea is a fourth-year UALR student who came to Little Rock from Missouri. He says that while he values his independence, being far from home is both exciting and hard.

"I am far from the people I know, and I'm only able to talk to them online. This was fine for a while, until I began to deeply miss seeing their faces and laughing with them."

For students who already struggle with depression, anxiety, or ADHD, college can make those challenges even harder. For many students, those struggles extend well beyond the classroom.

Brayden Sanders is a second-year student at UA Pulaski Technical College. He says depression has touched nearly every part of his college experience.

"Depression, lack of motivation, general stress — all of these things have contributed to negative effects on my mental state."

Sanders says the stress eventually affected his physical health, too. "The stress has caused me to lose sleep. Lack of sleep and overworking have led to near chronic bodily fatigue."

Not every student reports the same experience. Portugal Diaz, also a second-year student at Pulaski Tech, says his time in school hasn't brought on depression or anxiety — though he's watched peers fight through both.

"I have some issues with procrastination, but nothing akin to feelings of depression or anxiety. I think a lot of my peers do struggle with negative emotions and mindsets. I've seen them attempt to deal with their problems in different ways. Some have worked, and others really haven't."

Counselors say regular sleep, exercise, and time to relax can help students manage stress. But students sometimes reach for something else first. Substance abuse remains one of the more damaging coping patterns on campuses.

Sanders says he knows that road. He also found a way off it.

"I used to have negative habitual tendencies — habits that I'm not necessarily proud of. It became easier to cope when I abandoned those habits and built new ones. Now I regularly exercise and eat well, and I feel great. I think if other students take an honest look at their habits and try to change the negative ones, then they would be better off mentally."

Mental health professionals say recognizing a problem is often the first step toward recovery. But, they say, students shouldn't have to find their way there alone. Campus counseling centers, peer support groups, and community mental health agencies offer resources that go beyond what any individual student can manage on their own.

Andrew Beavers is a therapist at Family Service Agency in North Little Rock, where he works with college students. He encourages students to speak up and ask for help.

“I hate to see silent suffering, when resources are available.”

At both UA campuses, counseling services are available to enrolled students. Mental health advocates encourage students not to wait until things reach a breaking point, but to reach out early, whether that means scheduling an appointment with a campus counselor, connecting with a trusted faculty member, or simply talking to a peer.

Even as schools add more counseling services, many experts say demand is still outpacing available support. Abbood says college will always be stressful. But he says talking openly about those pressures has helped him realize he doesn't have to carry them alone.

For anyone in crisis, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline offers free, confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.