More than 75% of post-secondary students struggle with mental health. Here’s how parents can help

CTV Your Morning talks with family physician Dr. Vera Kohut about how parents can help their children deal with stress and other mental health issues.

Many post-secondary students face burnout and mental health issues as we reach the end of the semester, and parents across Canada are looking for ways to help them deal with it.

According to Universities Canada, nearly 90 per cent of post-secondary students’ report feeling overwhelmed by their responsibilities and 66 per cent report feeling overwhelmingly anxious. Additionally, 75 per cent of students have reported struggling with mental health.

Meanwhile, only half of them access their university’s mental health services, according to data from 2022 from the Canadian Association of Student Associations and Mental Health Commission of Canada.

Dr. Vera Kohut, a family physician and medical director at Toronto’s Serefin Health Clinic, told CTV’s Your Morning Wednesday that this time of the year is a particularly difficult adjustment for young adults.

Kohut said the reasons behind these issues could be them trying to figure out how to manage their time, both their personal and social life, along with their academics. Some may feel financial pressures or feel like they’re out of place, she added.

“They’re adapting to the new ways of learning,” she said. “They may have started to create some relationships and some friendships, but they’re still kind of early.”

According to Kohut, parents and guardians should begin with listening to their children without judgement, and then asking them how they can help with questions like:

• Do you just want to talk?
• Do you just want me to listen?
• Do you want me to help your brainstorm?

However, she advises against parents asking questions like “How are you?” because the usual response to that is, “I’m fine.”

“When you’re listening, you’re trying to create a conversation,” Kohut said. “You’re trying to find out what their life is like. You’re trying to find out what their work-life balance looks like. You’re trying to understand what their pressure points are. You’re trying to understand where it is that they’re struggling.”

Often mental stress can manifest as physical ailments, she added, saying that feelings of anxiety, panic, as well as feeling their heart race or an upset stomach, are all symptoms that an individual is struggling mentally.

In addition to that, students often live and spend their days in a community setting, hanging out with their peers. During flu season, that is another issue parents must consider, Kohut said.

“We’re living in these group settings that everybody’s coming down with something, and then you’re sick away from home,” she said.

This can lead to an increased sense of homesickness in both international students and those who live away from their families.

Kohut stressed the importance of communicating with them during these times, adding that listening and offering help without telling them what to do is the best path for parents.

“You’re not the person that’s directing the ship, but their coach,” she said. “Let them guide that conversation further.”

However, if the student is expressing issues of serious concern – feeling guilt, sadness, not being able to cope, missing sleep, skipping meals, missing classes and assignments, those are definite “red flags” and can be a cause for concern, Kohut added.