These days, students in university have a lot on their plates. In the Loyola Schools (LS), the average student has to balance studying for demanding subjects and fulfilling his or her equally demanding responsibilities to his or her student organizations. However, there is another struggle that Ateneans deal with that are not so visible on the surface: Issues of mental health.

Studies published in Psychology Today and by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) show that instances of depression and suicide in young adults have increased because of the times in which they live.  To combat these problems early on, counselors and psychiatrists try to identify, diagnose and talk about students’ mental health concerns.

In the LS, this translates to the projects of the LS Office of Guidance & Counseling (LSOGC). Guidance tests, counseling sessions and drug talks help determine how students think and feel, eventually helping them act on their problems and achieve resolutions. The LSOGC, then, is an intervening body that tries to ensure the mental health of Ateneans—although, sometimes, they are rife with their own issues.

Up in the hill

Studies, including those published on NIMH, cite several common causes for college students’ mental health concerns, which Dr. Peter Gatmaitan, director of the LSOGC, agrees with. These causes include, but are not limited to, financial problems, family issues, academic pressure, low self-esteem, the “age of narcissism” and the transition from secondary to tertiary education. Though they seem lofty, these same problems plague students of the Ateneo today.

Gatmaitan states that these problems have been observed as early as 40 years ago by associations of college counselors in the United States (US), and that the number of students experiencing these problems has also been increasing.

Perhaps the increase in number can be attributed to the social pressures that they feel. The advent of social media and other forms of technology put people under a microscope, making them feeling like they are being observed and scrutinized. Students, who, more often than not take part in social media, then feel that they must behave differently to meet social expectations—this causes stress.

The increase in the number of students who experience sadness and anxiety is also said to be caused by pressure to adhere to standards set by parents, something that Gatmaitan has seen in students of the Ateneo.

According to Gatmaitan, stress happens in instances when students are made to enroll into degree programs that they have little interest in but study anyway, because their parents want them to. The mismatch between what they want and what they have causes anxiety and unhappiness.

He also thinks that standards imposed by the parents are at times even higher than the school’s. “[Family pressure] makes graduating from college and performing very well that much harder, to those who’ve been stressed in the form of having to meet a specific grade-point requirement of the parents—not only passing but reaching [a] specific grade,” he says.

Coping mechanisms

Foremost, students deal with their problems by talking to their families, friends or significant others. But Gatmaitan believes that these can sometimes become the problem.

When asked about loved ones becoming an added stress, Gatmaitan replies, “I believe that they can, particularly since family, significant others and our grades are very close to our hearts, and occupy a very unique and important space in our lives. When things aren’t going very well in these three areas, there could be a higher likelihood for feeling sad, and it tends to be so,” he says.

Though the mental health issues are seen across the board in local and foreign universities, Gatmaitan has observed that there are uniquely Atenean ways of dealing with personal concerns. The secret is in the education.

“I’d like to think that the Ateneo education teaches us that the current generation, of which you’re in, oftentimes—and I don’t subscribe to this at all—gets a bad rap in terms of its purportedly being a narcissistic generation,” he says. “I think the Ateneo does its best to try to help students to go beyond the self and not only learn more about themselves but learn more about themselves by helping others, and I think that’s what makes it a little more unique.”

The way Ateneans combat the feeling of pressure on themselves is by focusing on other people. Their exposure to subjects such as philosophy and theology help them think critically and openly about their situations. Despite the pressure they may face, being able to see the situations faced by other people helps them deal with stress from academics and disputes with loved ones. Gatmaitan comments that the Ateneo education fosters critical thinking, seeing events through multiple perspectives, and adding a “spiritual perspective” to life, as well as teaching students to value positive events and circumstances.

Helping hands

Talking about the psyche of the Atenean, of course, will invariably involve the LSOGC itself. After all, it is the office responsible for the guidance tests students have to take every year. Apart from this, however, the LSOGC also does guidance counseling at the request of students, as well as offers help to identified troubled students.

To some students, it may seem that the evaluations are irrelevant, as most people just take the tests and never hear about it again.

However, Lito Nillo, the psychometrician of the LSOGC, assures that the tests conducted are relevant, helpful and accurate. These tests, as it turns out, are standardized ones used not only in other universities, but also in other countries, especially the US. However, the office’s psychologists also assess the questions and counselors to ensure that they are applicable in the Atenean context. “The guidance tests are research-based tests that have studies that support their reliability and validity,” Gatmaitan asserts. “It is considered best practice to use these instruments.”

The stigma against these tests and the office in general, nonetheless, is one that it recognizes. “I know that there’s a long way for us to go,” acknowledges Gatmaitan. Gatmaitan, who has been in office for only a year, is keen to emphasize how hard he and the office has been working to reverse the perceptions. In fact, he has made it a point to listen to feedback wherever it comes from—even from the Ateneo de Manila Secret Files entries on Facebook.

True enough, some very noticeable changes have happened since he first assumed the directorship of the LSOGC. The past months saw the implementation of a radically different guidance testing system—one that was administered online entirely. Doing the tests online allowed for faster scoring—which, in turn, allowed the office to help students with various concerns as quickly as possible. Apart from that, Gatmaitan claims, the move to online testing reduced testing times from four hours to just thirty minutes.

The focus of the tests, too, has changed, says Nillo. While the past examinations were designed to test for personality, the new tests sought to determine the socio-emotional needs of students, hence the emphasis on coping, social skills and self-efficacy evaluations in the present battery of tests.

Another of the LSOGC’s goals is to try reach out and be more approachable to students. In this year’s annual guidance orientations for all undergraduate students, the office took a different approach. During the orientation, the office presented a variety of videos to advertise their services instead of the traditional talks, in an effort to make the orientations more casual and enjoyable.

Unpolished edges

These changes, however, does not mean that the office is now free from problems. Issues persist, for instance, with many of the required activities. Although the online guidance testing did partially fulfill its intent to reduce testing times, the testing policies and plans were heavily criticized, especially when they were first announced. Some targeted the need to complete the tests only at certain times at certain venues; others worried how those without Internet-capable devices would be able to take the test. The reaction was so severe that the office had to release a document containing frequently asked questions to clarify the system and respond to concerns.

The new guidance orientation format, on the other hand, received a warmer reception. As with the online guidance testing, however, some questioned why it was required for the activity to be done on campus, given that the entire event only involved watching videos.

Throughout the interviews, both Gatmaitan and Nillo seemed apprehensive about going into details about the LSOGC’s systems. The office turned down requests for even the most generic of psychological statistics. Nillo explains that it is university policy not to disclose such information.

However, the non-disclosure is also the consequence of the confidentiality agreement signed by the students during the tests. The LSOGC interprets this agreement to include even data that is not personally identifiable and only derived from the results—so even numbers like the percentage of Ateneans with bipolar disorder, for instance, are off-limits. The motivation for this conservatism is obvious: To protect students. “We really have to be careful,” says Nillo. He notes that even information like mere scores could already produce stigma against students, since others may attempt to characterize a person based on the scores.

In contrast with his unyielding stance on disclosing information, however, Gatmaitan’s administration is committed to introducing even more changes to the guidance programs in the coming months. “We are trying new and exciting ways of helping all students through our brand new programs,” reads an email sent to financial aid and athletic scholars informing them of the changes to the required guidance interview program.

Whether things turn for the better or not is, at this point, an open-ended question. What is clear, however, is that these support services are more relevant than ever.

Stressing stressors

Although causes of anxiety and depression for college students vary from person to person, there have been trends of general stressors in college life. According to Dr. Peter Gatmaitan, director of the Loyola Schools Office for Guidance & Counseling, the following are five common situations that have concerned the Atenean throughout the years.

Broken family dynamics

Troubled, unbalanced and broken family dynamics are often the root of students’ anxiety and depression. How much attention parents pay to their children plays a prime role in their psychological well-being. The absence of support and attention, which is usually caused by both parents working or working abroad, leads to students feeling alone and without anyone in whom to confide. On the other hand, a surplus of attention leads to pressure to live up to parents’ expectations, which may make students often feel inferior and stressed.

It is important to note that families do not need to be of the traditional father-mother-child structure for this to apply. Loving and supportive caregivers, and neglectful or overbearing caregivers affect their children similarly. Both scenarios cause anxiety in their children.

Academic pressure

Not surprisingly, grades factor in in many students’ psychological well-being. Grades are linked with likelihood of employment and success. For students, factors such as degree program retention requirements often affect their performance when taking exams. Parents may also set a standard higher than the retention requirements, leading to additional emotional stress and anxiety.

Academic pressure not only comes from external factors but also from the students themselves. Studies have shown that students are becoming more and more competitive because grade inflation has become more pronounced in this generation. The premium given to tertiary education and those who manage to complete it add to the stress of excelling amid other students.

Relationship stress

Depending on how valued they are and how involved they are in a student’s life, a person’s friends and significant others play a role similar to the part that family plays. In college, students are mid-to-late adolescents, and one of the most important things they learn is how to socially interact with their peers. It has been observed that forming relationships with others, having friends and being with them are important to a college student’s life. Friends, though, exert their own kind of pressure, forcing people to conform in exchange for the friendship. Between seeking companionship and struggling for their own identity, students can become stressed by a conflict of roles. Peer pressure may lead to confusion, anxiety, general discomfort and unhappiness.

Financial problems

Although the Ateneo is seen by most to be a school of privileged kids able to spend large sums of money without qualms, some students do come from less wealthy families. In fact, there are students whose families struggle to pay constantly increasing tuition fees. Others have to contend with the costs of running the family business, especially those whose mother or father (or both) have already passed on. Financial pressures can become particularly debilitating, considering that so much of the lives of students— especially those whose mother or father (or both) have already passed on. Financial pressures can become particularly debis: Poor finances can, for example, strain family relations and further compound the pressure to do well in school. On another level, financial disparity—especially in the context of the Ateneo—teneonances can, for example, strain family relations and further compound the pressure to do well in school. On another er students on campus.

The age of narcissism

Psychologists around the world use the term “narcissism” not to denote vanity, but to refer to the increased exposure young people today have to the rest of the world, and vice versa. The Internet, particularly social media, makes it appear as though there is an omniscient being watching students. The feeling of scrutiny puts a lot of pressure on students not to make mistakes and to behave according to what is socially acceptable. Though many of the so-called watchers are virtual, they are very real to many students and they may struggle in light of those expectations. The gratification of online approval is easily offset by the censure during failure.

Although causes of anxiety and depression for college students vary from person to person, there have been trends of general stressors in college life. According to Dr. Peter Gatmaitan, director of the Loyola Schools Office for Guidance & Counseling, the following are five common situations that have concerned the Atenean throughout the years.

Broken family dynamics

Troubled, unbalanced and broken family dynamics are often the root of students’ anxiety and depression. How much attention parents pay to their children plays a prime role in their psychological well-being. The absence of support and attention, which is usually caused by both parents working or working abroad, leads to students feeling alone and without anyone in whom to confide. On the other hand, a surplus of attention leads to pressure to live up to parents’ expectations, which may make students often feel inferior and stressed.

It is important to note that families do not need to be of the traditional father-mother-child structure for this to apply. Loving and supportive caregivers, and neglectful or overbearing caregivers affect their children similarly. Both scenarios cause anxiety in their children.

Academic pressure

Not surprisingly, grades factor in in many students’ psychological well-being. Grades are linked with likelihood of employment and success. For students, factors such as degree program retention requirements often affect their performance when taking exams. Parents may also set a standard higher than the retention requirements, leading to additional emotional stress and anxiety.

Academic pressure not only comes from external factors but also from the students themselves. Studies have shown that students are becoming more and more competitive because grade inflation has become more pronounced in this generation. The premium given to tertiary education and those who manage to complete it add to the stress of excelling amid other students.

Relationship stress

Depending on how valued they are and how involved they are in a student’s life, a person’s friends and significant others play a role similar to the part that family plays. In college, students are mid-to-late adolescents, and one of the most important things they learn is how to socially interact with their peers. It has been observed that forming relationships with others, having friends and being with them are important to a college student’s life. Friends, though, exert their own kind of pressure, forcing people to conform in exchange for the friendship. Between seeking companionship and struggling for their own identity, students can become stressed by a conflict of roles. Peer pressure may lead to confusion, anxiety, general discomfort and unhappiness.

Financial problems

Although the Ateneo is seen by most to be a school of privileged kids able to spend large sums of money without qualms, some students do come from less wealthy families. In fact, there are students whose families struggle to pay constantly increasing tuition fees. Others have to contend with the costs of running the family business, especially those whose mother or father (or both) have already passed on. Financial pressures can become particularly debilitating, considering that so much of the lives of students— especially those whose mother or father (or both) have already passed on. Financial pressures can become particularly debis: Poor finances can, for example, strain family relations and further compound the pressure to do well in school. On another level, financial disparity—especially in the context of the Ateneo—teneonances can, for example, strain family relations and further compound the pressure to do well in school. On another er students on campus.

The age of narcissism

Psychologists around the world use the term “narcissism” not to denote vanity, but to refer to the increased exposure young people today have to the rest of the world, and vice versa. The Internet, particularly social media, makes it appear as though there is an omniscient being watching students. The feeling of scrutiny puts a lot of pressure on students not to make mistakes and to behave according to what is socially acceptable. Though many of the so-called watchers are virtual, they are very real to many students and they may struggle in light of those expectations. The gratification of online approval is easily offset by the censure during failure.