Wade said when students left home for the first time, they might have more trouble coping with stress in their new environment. He said although they might have a strong network of friends and family to lean on at home, they may not have as much support away from home. I talked to the counselors about my current situation. And even though I loved my mother and father, I feared talking to them would result in worried lectures or packaged anecdotes from their youth. But the counselors told me that college was a time of many hard transitions.
People start new relationships, while old ones change and end.
In the meantime, students are learning more about themselves, which often changes the way they relate to their families. Even though more people readily accept counseling in general, many still view getting psychological help as a sign of personal weakness, Wade said. In a study by Counseling and Psychological Services at Watkins, researchers found that people generally accepted the idea of others receiving treatment. Yet when faced with the notion of getting counseling themselves, the reaction was less favorable, Wade said. Mental illnesses are just as real as other illnesses, and they are like other illnesses in most ways.