University of Hopelessness
In a season of experimentation and discovery, as new horizons begin to unfold, one would expect the lives of young people to be filled with joy, wonder, and hope. For the very first time, they have gained mastery over their lives, and have been given the opportunity to blaze new trails into the unknown as they discover their passions and grasp onto the careers and elements which will shape them forever forward. This dauntingly wonderful time of life would appear to be one filled with hope; however, the hopeful generation of young people is continuing to find hope lacking — but why? The discussion will cover the rise of depression and hopelessness attributed to the decline in mental health among young people and discover the reasons why thousands of millennials choose suicide over seeking help to cope with their mental health issues¹. Navigation through the facts will note that the Church is failing to bring hope to the demographic that lacks it most — young adults².
To better understand the discussion of hopelessness the following question must be asked — what is hope? Mary C. Lamia Ph.D. defined it as such:
“Hope structures your life in anticipation of the future and influences how you feel in the present. Similar to optimism, hope creates a positive mood about an expectation, a goal, or a future situation. Such mental time travel influences your state of mind and alters your behavior in the present. The positive feelings you experience as you look ahead, imagining hopefully what might happen, what you will attain, or who you are going to be, can alter how you currently view yourself. Along with hope comes your prediction that you will be happy, and this can have behavioral consequences³.”
She goes on to differentiate hope from an emotion stating that, “hope does not fit the criteria as an emotion” because it, “lack[s] the immediacy and intensity of reflexive emotions yet capable of determining one’s outlook on life³.” To lay it out simply, hope is drawn from future “goodness” which directly affects immediate emotions. To have hope, one has confidence in the future, and alternatively one lacks hope when no goodness can be foreseen in one’s road ahead which affects immediate emotions, leading ultimately to depression³. With a definition in hand, a sobering question must be asked — why are young people lacking hope?
College ought to be a breeding ground for hope as its students transform into their true selves. In the missional statement of Yale University, we read that they are:
“Committed to improving the world today and for future generations through outstanding research and scholarship, education, preservation, and practice. Yale educates aspiring leaders worldwide who serve all sectors of society. [Yale carries] out this mission through the free exchange of ideas in an ethical, interdependent, and diverse community of faculty, staff, students, and alumni⁴.
And Arizona State University, whom we will discuss in greater depth, writes that they exist as:
“[A] comprehensive public research university, measured not by whom it excludes, but rather by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves⁵.”
On paper, the futures of young people have never been brighter, with opportunities to change the world for the betterment of mankind and be a part of something greater than themselves. Young people ought not to be hopeless, however, the facts paint a very different picture.
In a poll conducted by College Degree Search, it was discovered that colleges and universities have faced hopelessness for decades in the form of deteriorating mental health which has led to a rise in suicides and attempts on campuses¹. The year 1950 saw 1,100 students take their lives across the nation¹, which may seem to be a relatively low number, especially by today’s campus numbers. Today, however, twelve university students choose to end their lives each and every day, revealing that suicide rates have increased to well over 200% in young people¹.
A better picture of the effects of this epidemic of hopelessness can be seen at Arizona State University, located in Tempe, Arizona. The university is by far the largest in the country, boasting a 2018 enrollment of 103,567⁶. By taking the percentage of suicide rates among college students in the nation and applying them to a school of this size, one would expect 8,630⁶ students to contemplate ending their lives this next year ¹. While the rate of suicide varies from university to university, the number is quite shocking and truly disturbing. The university’s website has revealed that in 2018, 40.8% of their student body admitted to having clinical depression, while 12.4% seriously considered ending their lives, and 1.5% have reported attempting suicide⁷. While these percentages are low, they are incredibly misleading. In 2018 42,255 students at this particular university were diagnosed with depression, 12,842 students seriously considered killing themselves and 1,553⁶ were reported as having tried to⁷. It must be noted that these are statistics from only one university among over four thousand found in the states, which confirms the rising epidemic of hopelessness across the campuses of America. With over nineteen million students enrolled in higher education across the country⁸, universities should, unfortunately, expect to see 1,658,333 students contemplate ending their lives this next year¹.
In a venue built to evoke hope, hope is seriously lacking, and unfortunately, it is not limited to non-Christians. A nine-year study conducted by Cambridge University revealed that the rise of hopelessness was universal². Conservative Protestants were found to be slightly more hopeful, however not by large margins². The fact remains that hope is lost. Young people have found themselves consumed by the debt caused by tuition rates, the competitiveness shown by their peers, along with the fear they may not have a job lined up by the time they graduate¹. “There is a myth that if you have a college degree, you have a job. The fact is that approximately 53% of college graduates are unemployed or working in a job that doesn't require a bachelor's degree⁹.” All hope college students ought to have in their futures has been choked out by the fears birthed through the very institutions established to evoke hope.
How then are campuses responding to the epidemic of hopelessness? An article by Inside Higher Ed discussed the findings of a report conducted by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health regarding the response to the hopelessness crisis as well as their treatment efforts.
“[The] survey suggests that increasing student demand for mental health services — spurred by prevention and awareness campaigns — may be leading colleges to focus less on ongoing treatment in order to respond more rapidly to high-risk students ¹⁰”.
The institutions have done a valiant job spreading the word regarding mental health awareness which has led 50% ¹⁰ of students struggling with hopelessness to seek counseling. Unfortunately, the influx of those seeking help has not been met by teams of counselors truly prepared to handle the overwhelming numbers of these students. Students are now having to be placed on waiting lists while the “high-risk” patients are first attended to. Realizing the need for student help was still ever-growing, Universities such as “Willamette University in Oregon [have] partnered with ProtoCall, a 24-hour mental health hotline, to provide around-the-clock support to students ¹⁰” while “the University of Iowa announced that it would hire eight new counselors to meet the rising demand for more mental health services among its students ¹⁰.” Universities have made great efforts to spread awareness of the looming crisis and have begun providing the framework to offer immediate responses to students struggling. However, the university faculty remains grossly understaffed to help students over the long term ¹⁰. Where then can students find adequate counseling to help instill their hope for the future?
The Church. What better place to find hope? When Believers are anxious they know comfort can be found in Christ’s Church, knowing they will receive “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (Colossians 3:12, NIV)” from those they meet there. The church ought to be the one place young people can turn to while seeking comfort in the face of hopelessness, knowing that even in the face of adversity and pain, there is always hope in Christ. 1 Peter 5:7-10 tells us to:
“Cast all your anxiety on [God] because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
Believers clearly have a hope in Christ for the future which ought to directly influence the present. However, pain is still pain, and the Church seems to have a problem in addressing the mental health crisis. Amy Simpson wrote:
“Our bodies, minds, and spirits are interconnected in ways too mysterious for us to unravel. And technically, all sicknesses are ultimately spiritual in origin—they entered our world as a result of humanity’s rebellion against God. But to assume that disorders and diseases which attack the brain have direct spiritual causes and solutions is to misunderstand the way we are made. Mental illnesses are real, treatable, and manageable conditions caused by genetic, biological, or environmental factors, or some combination of the three. To withhold or discourage medical and psychological intervention is as cruel as to deny treatment for a broken arm or a case of diabetes. I find it baffling that people who believe other physical ailments should be treated only with faith and prayer are considered cultists or heretics — but such a perspective on mental illness is accepted within mainstream Christianity ¹¹.”
Mental health in young people is only going to continue rising, and the Church appears to be ill-prepared to tackle the problem. Young people are continuing to leave the church year by year ¹², meaning young people are not in the truly “hope-giving” environment they so desperately need. However, Amy Simpson writes, “In general, the church tends to handle mental illness in one of three ways: ignore it, treat it exclusively as a spiritual problem, or refer people to professionals and wash our hands of their trouble¹¹”.
Unfortunately, the effort to combat the growing rate of suicide among young people is still struggling, and the campuses across the country appear to be doing a better job than the Church ¹⁰. With rates of enrollment rising⁶, in contrast to church attendance among young people diminishing, the campuses of America are where the students are seeking a hope to live for ¹². The great Author C.S. Lewis understood the problem of pain all too well, and was able to empathize with mental pain in a way too few Christians and local churches do today:
“Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken (Lewis, The Problem of Pain).”
Until the Church steps back into its role of relaying the true hope of Christ, of willingly walking alongside the hopeless, and providing the emotional support they so desperately need as they seek medical assistance, the epidemic of hopelessness will only lead to more casualties of suicide among young people.
