One in five people struggle with mental illness, and many don't get help, Daniel Lannin, lead author, psychology graduate student and clinical intern at ISU's Student Counseling Service said.
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Those who do wait an average of 11 years, before finally seeking treatment. Lannin says distressed students in the study were more likely to click the link for information (8.5 percent probability for those with high self-stigma, compared to 17.1 percent for those with low self-stigma).
Distress is like the gas pedal and stigma the brake, he said. Unfortunately, by the time someone reaches a high level of distress, he or she is often struggling to function.
"Identifying distressed students can be difficult because distress affects people in different ways. The main thing we notice is impairment in functioning across multiple spheres.
"They struggle with school work or with family relationships and friendships. If it gets bad enough, they might struggle with hygiene or start strongly contemplating suicide," Lannin said. "It's not just that they feel bad; it's that functionally they're impaired."
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, three-quarters of all chronic mental illness begins by age 24
Lannin says for many young adults this is a time of transition - going to college, working full-time and moving away from home - adding to the reasons they may not seek help. This is another consideration when designing interventions and educational information, Lannin said.
In the paper, Lannin and his colleagues suggested adding brief self-affirmation activities to websites frequented by at-risk populations, as well as links to additional mental health and treatment information.
Self-affirmation interventions could also be incorporated into outreach events organized by university counseling centers.
David Vogel, a professor of psychology at Iowa State; Todd Abraham, a lecturer in psychology; and Rachel Brenner and Patrick J. Heath, both graduate students in psychology, all contributed to this research. ■