Canada’s University Services Brace for Holiday Student Burnout

1 in 5 people will experience a mental health problem.

Holiday time on Canada’s university campuses means lots of drop outs and burnouts. The stress of a workload, disconnection from family and friends, and self-doubt lead a huge number of students to seek counseling.

According to The Globe and Mail, McGill University’s mental health service gets more than 20 emergency drop-ins a day – four times the usual rate. Most of these students are exhausted, have given up and spend all day in bed.

Elsewhere, Queen’s University released a report with 116 recommendations to overhaul the way universities can help maintain their students’ mental health during the most volatile times of the year.

“Mental health is clearly an issue among young adults in Canada. Across the post-secondary education sector, most institutions, including Queen’s, are reporting an increase in the number of students with mental health concerns.

Indeed, in Canadian society, in any given year, 1 in 5 people will experience a mental health problem,” said the report.

The report focuses on:

• Promoting a healthy community;
• Easing transitions and fostering resilience;
• Encouraging help-seeking and helping behavior; and
• Providing effective response, service and care.

According to Statistics Canada, young women in this age group are more likely to reach their brink and commit suicide. In 2008 (the most recent year for which statistics are available) 233 Canadians aged 10 to 19 — 156 males and 77 females — committed suicide.