Students report that stress is a problem; SU Anxiety Screening Day offers help

Students report that stress is a problem; SU Anxiety Screening Day offers helpJanuary 17, 2006Matthew R. Snydermrsnyder@syr.edu

Students report that stress is a problem; SU Anxiety Screening Day offers help

Anxiety disorders affect more than 19 million people in the United States each year. As might be expected, anxiety is prevalent among college students, who appear to be more distressed than ever before. According to a national survey conducted in 2004 by the American College Health Association, 94 percent of college students reported feeling “overwhelmed” at times. At SU, 88 percent of students reported that stress was a problem in the last year, according to results from the 2004 TheHealthSurvey.

Fortunately, stress and anxiety can be managed through the use of resources and skills such as relaxation techniques, exercise and therapy; however, many sufferers either do not recognize anxiety symptoms or fail to make use of available resources. To help the SU community recognize and address this issue, the Syracuse University Division of Student Affairs Counseling Center is collaborating with the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program, Counseling and Human Services and the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy to host Anxiety Screening Day on Tuesday, Jan. 31, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Room 304 of the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center.

This free event, which is open to all students, faculty and staff, will provide participants with the opportunity to complete a self-administered questionnaireand participate in a brief consultation with a therapist. In addition to receiving information about anxiety and available resources, participants will be able to receive chair massages by licensed massage therapists on a first-come, first-served basis.

Through participation in Anxiety Screening Day, members of the SU community will learn how to better recognize the symptoms of anxiety and gain insight into how they can help themselves. For example, students will be provided with information about Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a program designed to enhance each participant’s ability to better cope with the demands and pressures of college life. This spring, thanks to a three-year federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Counseling Center is offering a free eight-week MBSR course to SU students.

For more information, call the Counseling Center at 443-4715 or visithttp://counselingcenter.syr.edu.