Higher Education: Mental Health as Elective

We all know him. He breezed to highest honors in computer science. For fun, he devoured English classics and starred in extracurricular activities. Teachers fawned over him; the hometown newspaper lauded his academic triumphs. You admired and envied him. He was destined to change the world. Now, sadly, he is changing your tires at a local car maintenance shop. Home for the holidays, you retrace your high school haunts. Grabbing a sandwich at your favorite hangout, you spot him. Averting eye contact, he mumbles out a halfhearted greeting. You can hear the fatigue in his voice. He pulls you aside. “Hey, do you mind if we grab a cup of coffee? It would be good to catch up.” “Sure,” you stammer. “Let’s go grab a cup.” After exchanging pleasantries, he sighs loudly and fidgets with his baseball cap. “You are probably wondering what happened,” he sighs. The sentence lingers. He glances downward before continuing. “Well, I went to Ivy University. Everything was immaculate. The professors were international leaders in their field. The students were scholars in their own right. It was exhilarating.” “So, what happened?” His eyes narrowing, “Well, I had a breakdown. Here in our town, everyone celebrated me for my otherworldly intelligence. But at Ivy, I was just your average smart guy. When I failed my mid-semester exam, my confidence — my identity — was shattered. I couldn’t rebound.” He continued, “As my grades spiraled downhill, I starte...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: College Depression Disorders General Personal Academia Achievement anxiety Career Goals college health student Success Universities And Colleges university Source Type: blogs