B-Schools See A Rise in Stressed Out Students

Carlson’s Madison Schwartz takes part in a mental health campaign titled “How are you?” sponsored by the Minnesota Student Association. Photo courtesy of Minnesota Student Association

Add to that, the large number of student suicides that have occurred at the campus, Schwartz told Poets&Quants for Undergrads. “It’s not to say that we have more suicides than any other campus, but in a college environment — along with pressure to conform to societal expectations — it can be a lot especially if it’s the first time you’re on your own.”

As the event went on, Schwartz remembers looking around and being unable to spot one dry eye in the room as students shared their experiences. “We went over our allocated time by an hour. Towards the end, it felt wrong for me to sit there and not say anything when people were being so vulnerable. I spoke and it was the first time when I felt so alive or that we can make a positive change.”

‘NO ONE WANTS TO ADMIT THEY’RE STRUGGLING’

According to Schwartz, her deep involvement in mental health issues at Carlson and her own lived experiences with stress and anxiety have uncovered what she sees as some common root causes.

“Obviously, I can only speak from my experience, but for me it’s growing up and hearing people being impressed with a certain path. You’ll hear neighbors say, ‘Sarah’s doing such a great job going to whatever top school, she’s going to be an investment banker, and work on Wall Street.’ It’s these little stories that manifest themselves. They become so ingrained in your brain, you feel there’s only one path for yourself.”

With that comes the need to feel accepted Schwartz says. “We feel that we have to be on the path that we see is rewarded, basically. Even when choosing your major. Finance and accounting have the connotation that they can be more math based and maybe they’re harder. So there’s even a split with majors where I think some seem more impressive to some people and that’s just not the reality.”  

Another contributing factor, says Schwartz: overachievers.  “All these overachievers are all in one school together and want to prove themselves,” she says. “There’s nothing wrong with getting a B, but when you’ve always gotten As, it creates this false sense of competition. Then you feel the sense of being lost and no one knows your struggling and having to pretend you have it all together.

Toby LeBlanc is an embedded counselor at McCombs School of Business. Courtesy photo

“I remember after one exam I thought, ‘Wow, I could’ve taken this with my eyes closed and it could’ve probably gone better.’ But no one wants to admit they’re struggling. Instead, we think if we pull it together internally, and wear this mask externally, people will think more of us. The internal struggle is okay. That’s where we have to shift the conversation.”

COUNSELORS IN RESIDENCE AT McCOMBS

Perfectionism and fear of failure are thought to be a common cause for anxiety among business students at the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business as well. In 2014, the university became an early pioneer in mental health support for students with the implementation of its CARE initiative — Counselors in Academic Residence —  which placed licensed professional counselors into the colleges of communications, liberal arts, natural sciences, undergraduate studies, engineering, and business.

In an earlier write-up about the CARE initiative, McCombs’ embedded counselor, Toby LeBlanc, said, “McCombs recruits the best of the best. Difficulty — and even the big f-word, ‘failure’ — is something that’s foreign to a lot of the students here.”  

Prior to UT and CARE, LeBlanc worked with people suffering schizophrenia and severe bipolar disorder. He then spent several years helping teens struggling with addiction and ran his own private practice counseling patients dealing with anxiety and depression.

“College is one of the more stressful environments a person encounters in their lifetime,” LeBlanc shared, explaining that mental health issues — whether pre-existing or first appearing during the college years — are all exacerbated by stress.

FOR BUSINESS SCHOOL STUDENTS, RECRUITING BRINGS ADDED PRESSURE

Meanwhile back at Emory’s Goizueta Business School, Jane Hershman eyes it all through the lens of career services. Although she can’t point to one specific cause, she does have a feeling that for business school students, in particular, it’s the pressures of college life combined with early pipelining and accelerated recruiting. Both are trends that business schools report are causing an ever-mounting pressure on business majors to get internships and jobs.

“Because recruiting keeps getting earlier, they come in more and more stressed,” says Hershman about Goizueta’s two-year business program. “They still have to go to school. There’s pressure to get good grades, pressure to balance everything. For our students, they’re trying to figure out how to distribute their time and energy when their first semester in business school is like their first semester in college all over again.”

At Goizueta, the stressed students trend has picked up enough that — like other schools — they’ve decided to take action. This coming spring semester, Goizueta is partnering with Emory’s Counseling and Psychological Services group to implement a structured set of co-curricular, elective opportunities for the undergraduate B-school population to tap into.

It’ll include a mix of clinical and non-clinical relaxation and stress management opportunities such as yoga, general wellness, and emotional well-being plus invitations for students to simply hang out in a fun environment.

“We’re trying to be deliberate in rolling out a more structured stress reduction offering,” Hershman says. “Something that’s worth their time and our resources.”

Regarding the fun environment tactic, Hershman says puppy therapy is always a hit, but Goizueta hopes to think outside the box by bringing in some less traditional furry friends. Baby goats anyone?

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