Tag Archives: Psychology

How college students can tackle common psychological problems

ThinkingCompleting a college degree can be a hard ball game and not everyone can hit it out of the park. I think we all can agree that college life often brings up tough challenges that can break even the strongest of students if they are not able to handle them well.

Besides academic pressure, students often have to juggle various other psychological pressures such as unfavorable family conditions, infatuations, peer pressure, insecurities, bullying, health issues, etc., that can make it even harder to cope.

All of this can affect one’s psychological well being and can contribute to a lack of focus and potentially losing sight of ultimate life goals.

 Common problems

Around 43.7 million American adults were diagnosed with mental health conditions in 2016. Fear, stress, loneliness, sleep deprivation, anxiety, depression, emotional troubles, self-loathing, addiction, sexual tension, etc. are some common psychological problems among students.   

While severe cases of depression and anxiety topped the list, a significant section of young adults also suffered from illicit drug abuse and alcohol abuse. In some cases, conditions were severe enough that patients showed suicidal tendencies.

What to do?

It’s typically easier to treat psychological conditions at an early age, between 16 – 24 years old. After some online research, I have summarized a three-step plan to help deal with and conquer mental health issues while pursuing your degree:  Admission, Analysis, and Consultation.

The Plan:

  1. Admission

A good first step to addressing psychological problems is admitting that you have a problem and determining that you are willing to face it head on. It certainly takes some amount of bravery to admit that something’s wrong with yourself. Remember, you’re not alone.  As I stated above, there are 43.7 million adults that also have some type of mental health condition. There is no shame or weakness in admitting that you have a problem.  It is easier to treat and improve your mental health condition if you report signs as early as you see them.

What to look for?

According to Mental Health America, there are several warning signs and symptoms:

  • Confused thinking
  • Prolonged depression (sadness or irritability)
  • Feelings of extreme highs and lows
  • Excessive fears, worries and anxieties
  • Social withdrawal
  • Dramatic changes in eating or sleeping habits
  • Strong feelings of anger
  • Strange thoughts (delusions)
  • Seeing or hearing things that aren’t there (hallucinations)
  • Growing inability to cope with daily problems and activities
  • Suicidal thoughts
  • Numerous unexplained physical ailments
  • Substance use

2. Analysis: Studying the Connection and Consequences

Most psychological problems are connected to another or lead to another, or they may be a result of one another. For example, loneliness can cause fear, and fear can cause stress and anxiety. Emotional tension can lead to sexual trouble, which in turn can result in addiction and sleep deprivation, etc.

Taking a look at these connections not only helps to identify the problem but can help you identify a pattern, which can prevent an minor illness from branching into more serious consequences like self-injury, drug addiction, depression, bipolar disorder, or in worse cases, causing harm to yourself or others.

To prevent such consequences, you need to understand your problem and know what led to this condition. If you want to read up, there’s enough research on mental health and psychological disorders and papers that you can find on the internet. Be informed.

3.  Consultation

It sounds very obvious but yes, consulting a professional or speaking to a student counselor can be a tremendous help. If you don’t know where to start, try going to the campus counseling center or look for a student support group on your campus. The university health clinic can also refer you to a mental health professional. If you prefer to find someone off campus, do an online search for “mental health professional” in your city or town.

A recent survey by Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD) revealed that 72% of students surveyed have felt positive results after consultation. Sharing your problem with a professional will help you get proper guidance, medication, and rehabilitation that’s suited to your condition.

Final words

Recovering from psychological turmoil is a hard battle but it is important to persevere. Remember, you are not alone. It may be difficult to pull yourself out of a depression or overcome anxiety without obtaining professional assistance. Talk to someone that can  help you.

Try to avoid temporary fixes like self-medicating and don’t ignore your symptoms. It takes strength to identify that you have a problem and seek help. Love yourself enough to make sure that you are in the best mental state possible, and do whatever it takes to maintain that healthy mentality. Remember, you want to live your best life. Stay safe, stay fit and don’t be afraid to ask for help!

Author:

Ethan Miller is a private ESL tutor and apart from his passion for teaching, he loves to write. When he is not teaching or writing his book, Ethan loves to blog and is a huge fan of educational technology. Follow Ethan on Twitter, and his blog.

A note from Dr. Jessica Henderson Daniel on APA Citizen Psychologist

Editor’s Note: Do you know of any doctoral level psychologists – whether an advisor, practitioner, mentor, or leader – who contributes to improving the lives of all through continued engagement in public service, volunteerism, board membership, or other strategic roles not necessarily associated with the day-to-day work of their career? Consider submitting a nomination for the APA Citizen Psychologist!

Dear Colleagues:

The APA Citizen PsychologistTM initiative grew out of my mantra: Psychology Is Every Day In Every Way.

Almost every aspect of human existence is impacted by psychological science, education, and practice. And almost every social policy can be informed by it.  For these reasons, I firmly believe that psychologists and psychology students need to be in more rooms, at more tables, and at the heads of those tables when decisions affecting the public are formulated and implemented. 

I would like APA members to be energized and motivated as they discover how to serve as an APA Citizen PsychologistTM! So I am launching it as my core initiative as 2018 President of APA.

My dream is that the APA Citizen PsychologistTM concept will be infused into the discipline through education at all levels—from high school to lifelong learning. It is important to me that this concept of service to the public good endures as an integral part of APA’s future.

I will honor the work of APA Citizen PsychologistsTM with APA Presidential Citations, and ask Divisions and State, Provincial and Territorial organizations to not only help me identify worthy recipients, but also sustain recognition well beyond 2018.  Please consider nominating a colleague or yourself.

It is rewarding to be in such a dynamic and expansive discipline. I am excited to see where our members will take psychology next.

 Sincerely,

Jessica Henderson Daniel, PhD, ABPP

2017 APA President-Elect

 

Citizen Psychologist Flyer 2017-8-22

 

Gender & Sexual Diversity: Why ALL Social Scientists Should be Conducting Inclusive Research

Written by:  J. Stewart, North Carolina State University, member of the APAGS Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity

lgbtq-2495947_1920Did you know that the current administration recently eliminated a proposal to include questions about sexual orientation and gender identity in the 2020 U.S. census survey? You may or may not realize that doing so poses potentially serious threats to the rights of many Americans through this powerful form of erasure. Without this data, we will continue to have only rough estimates of the number of LGBTQ+ people living in the U.S.

As stigma surrounding sexual minority identities has lessened over the last few decades, many psychologists and social scientists across specialties are increasingly encountering lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) participants in research conducted in general populations. As researchers who strive to maintain a certain neutrality when collecting and interpreting data, the degree to which we can actively further an equal rights agenda in conducting the research is limited. However, through the small, yet impactful act of prioritizing inclusivity in research practices, social scientists can help to challenge systems of oppression while simultaneously maintaining the integrity of the science.

By merely (yet accurately) recognizing the diversity that exists with regard to people’s sexualities, we can both affirm the identities of people of those experiences and signal to all participants that such experiences are present and valid. This can be accomplished, for example, through the use of inclusive language in surveys and offering more options than just the typical “male/female” and “straight/gay/lesbian” for possible answers to demographic questions. When phrasing questions in binary terms or restricting demographic responses, researchers may inadvertently oppress gender and sexual minority individuals by reinforcing binary conceptions of gender and imposing limited characterizations of sexual orientation.

Dismantling these systems calls for a paradigm shift within every social sphere—including scientific research. Consider the ways in which social science informs public policy. If we do not produce research that reflects the diversity that we know exists in our society, the public institutions that draw upon that research will continue to marginalize that diversity. Given the historical role science has played in oppression, we have an ethical imperative to do better.

Here are ten things that you can do to integrate inclusive research practices into your next study:

Continue reading →

Dear Me, Future Psychologist. Yours truly, Dr. John C. Norcross

It’s time for the next installment of Dear me, future psychologist, a gradPSYCH Blog exclusive in which a prominent psychologist writes a letter to his/her 16-year-old self. We hope you enjoy these letters and glean some invaluable wisdom and guidance as you decide whether to enter graduate school in psychology, as you navigate the challenges of graduate school, and as you make decisions about your career and life.

norcross1This letter is from John C. Norcross, PhD, ABPP, an internationally recognized authority on clinical psychology and psychotherapy. Dr. Norcross is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Scranton, Clinical Professor at The Commonwealth Medical College, and a board-certified clinical psychologist. He has published more than 400 scholarly publications and 20 books, including the 5-volume APA Handbook of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy Relationships that Work, Insider’s Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical & Counseling Psychology, and Systems of Psychotherapy: A Transtheoretical Analysis, now in its 8th edition.  He served as president of several APA divisions and international organizations, receiving multiple professional awards, such as APA’s Distinguished Career Contributions to Education & Training Award, Pennsylvania Professor of the Year from the Carnegie Foundation, and election to the National Academies of Practice.  For more info, please visit Dr. Norcross’s website.

DEAR-ME

 

 

FROM THE DESK OF JOHN C. NORCROSS:

Continue reading →

Dear Me, Future Psychologist. Yours truly, Dr. Alison Gopnik

Check out our latest installment of Dear Me, Future Psychologist, a gradPSYCH Blog exclusive in which a prominent psychologist writes a letter to their 16-year-old self. We hope you enjoy these letters and glean some invaluable wisdom and guidance as you decide whether to enter graduate school in psychology, as you navigate the challenges of graduate school, and as you make decisions about your career and life.

Gopnik photo really hi-res tiff (002)This letter is from Dr. Alison Gopnik. Dr. Gopnik is a professor of psychology and affiliate professor of philosophy at the University of California at Berkeley, where she has taught since 1988. She received her BA from McGill University and her PhD. from Oxford University. She is a world leader in cognitive science, particularly the study of children’s learning and development. She is the author of over 100 journal articles and several books including the bestselling and critically acclaimed popular books “The Scientist in the Crib” William Morrow, 1999, “The Philosophical Baby; What children’s minds tell us about love, truth and the meaning of life” Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2009,  and  “The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the new science of child development tells us about the relationship between parents and children” Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2016. She is a fellow of the Cognitive Science Society and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

She writes the Mind and Matter science column for the Wall Street Journal. And she has also written widely about cognitive science and psychology for The New Yorker, Science, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Times Literary Supplement, The New York Review of Books, New Scientist and Slate, among others. She has frequently appeared on TV and radio including “The Charlie Rose Show” and “The Colbert Report”. Her TED talk has been seen over 2.75 million times. She has three sons and three grand-children and lives in Berkeley, California with her husband Alvy Ray Smith.

DEAR-ME

FROM THE DESK OF ALISON GOPNIK:

May 2017

Dear Me,

Now by all the rules, you should be the one who is hesitant and uncertain, just starting out in life as you are, and I should be the one who’s figured it all out – I have the very unfair advantage, after all, of knowing how things will turn out. But, knowing you as I do, I’m afraid it’s mostly going to be the reverse. You are so sure about who you are and what you’re going to do, and most of my wisdom is a lifetime’s accumulation of doubt, even about the most fundamental biographical facts.

Continue reading →