TEXAS — Many anticipate their college years being an era of excitement and personal growth, but some young adults who enter college come face to face with a mental health crisis.

What You Need To Know

  • Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for college students, according to the CDC, and about 65% of college students report knowing someone who has attempted or died by suicide

  • Dr. Nicole Clark interviewed college students about the challenges they face in young adulthood

  • Many of the students noted the isolation they feel when becoming a young adult

  • Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts or another type of mental health crisis can call, chat or text 988, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline 24/7, to connect with a trained counselor for free

Principal investigators at four universities across the nation surveyed more than 100,000 undergraduates on mental health struggles, stigma and treatments. Data released in their 2023-2024 Healthy Minds Study revealed that more than a third of college-age students display symptoms of depression. In addition, suicide is the second-leading cause of death for college students, according to the CDC, and about 65% of college students report knowing someone who has attempted or died by suicide, according to a study in the journal Advances in Mental Health.

Spectrum News has partnered with the University of Southern California’s Center for Health Journalism to explore mental health concerns and suicide among college students.

Spectrum News Mental Health Correspondent Dr. Nicole Clark sat down with a diverse group of college students for a candid conversation about the challenges and pressures they face while navigating young adulthood.

“My biggest challenge that I’m facing right now is maybe feeling alone in a lot of spaces. For the most part, it just feels like I am just mentally feeling alone and having so much to do and feeling like I don’t have anybody to call on for help,” said Kaiya Perry, a graduating senior at Huston Tillotson University.

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor counseling graduate student Jennifer Choi agreed, adding that her biggest challenge is being at a different stage of life as compared to her peers. “I’m 23 right now, so some of my friends have corporate jobs and I’m still studying. So, I do feel very isolated because I see them going on vacations and doing the activities that I would like to do. But I’m still pursuing my dream of becoming a therapist,” Choi said.

“I had the dreams of wanting to be a professional soccer player, but I’ve just stopped playing recently. I can definitely say that college is really where you find out the man or potential woman that you’re going to be in the future,” Huston Tillotson University graduating senior Marcus Gibson shared.

“One of the reasons why I wanted to speak directly to college students is because a number of college students have been in the headlines for taking their own life. So I’m wondering, what are your thoughts and reactions to that?” Dr. Clark asked.

Gibson shared a time in his life when he considered taking his own life. “That was a real period during my life where I didn’t feel like I really knew who I was. But in terms of seeing other students go through that, knowing that I went through that in high school, it’s definitely saddening because from personal experience I know how that feels,” Gibson confided.

“I think mental health is definitely very real and I feel like there’s almost like this shame of admitting that you’re going through stuff and people feel embarrassed and they just want to keep it to themselves because maybe they feel like, you know, they see everybody else and they’re doing so well and why am I feeling like this? And they just feel like a disconnect from other people and they feel just embarrassed to share things and to really talk to people about it,” said Justin Chen, a Texas A&M University medical student.

University of Texas graduating senior Jessica Garcia spoke about the evolution of mental health and how conversations about it are more accepted today than in previous years. “Mental health used to be a taboo, and I feel like now it’s getting better and [we’re] having to speak on it and like learn,” Garcia said.

Fellow UT graduating senior Tyler Pollum agreed, saying “I feel like people our age take mental health pretty seriously, or at least we like acknowledge it. But I know, or at least a lot of older people that I’ve talked to, they don’t think that it’s as big of a deal.”

Perry expressed a desire for people to consider the pressures young adults are facing. “I wish that people would just stop and think outside of their own opinions and ideals, and just like physically see what is happening with our generation,” Perry lamented.

Gibson focused on self-responsibility and being the change he wants to see in the world. “In my opinion, I say be the change because we already have plenty of problems in the world. We have to jump in and be the guiding hand that still helps each other regardless of what happens on the college campus. It’s still a family,” Gibson said.

The conversation on self-responsibility then moved to self-care with future counselor Choi remarking on its benefits. “I cannot stress how important self-care is because like a lot of people feel that self-care can like you can feel shame and guilt from it, but in general, like it’s a selfless act, like you need self-care,” Choi said.  

“Like I said earlier, college is where you go to find yourself. You also kind of break in yourself a little bit too, because life is going to life like stuff is going to happen that you just can’t plan,” Gibson added. 

Talking about these issues is just the start in fighting the mental health crisis. Spectrum News and the University of Southern California’s Center for Health Journalism will continue to explore college student mental health and suicide on college campuses in a three-part series.

Anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts or another type of mental health crisis can call, chat or text 988, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline 24/7, to connect with a trained counselor for free.