Milena Sarwary and Jarmila Binia
Hey there, curious reader!
We’re Milena and Jarmila, the masterminds (or at least the dedicated writers) behind this blog. One of us studies Environmental Science, the other studies Law—so naturally, we figured, why not tackle a project together and mix legal thinking with eco-consciousness? A perfect match, right?
But here’s the fun part: We actually first met as guides for international students, helping them navigate life in Germany. Fast forward, and we randomly ended up in the same seminar, staring at each other like, “Wait… haven’t we done this before?” Life works in mysterious ways! With the help of amazing students from the USA and Brazil, we’ve gathered insights and stories to make this blog as exciting and informative as possible. So buckle up, enjoy the read, and maybe—just maybe—you’ll learn something new while having a laugh or two!
Now let´s begin with our blog.
Scrolling through Instagram at midnight, exhausted from studying, she sees another perfectly curated photo – a girl in a flawless outfit, glowing skin, toned body. She sighs, closes her books, and wonders, “Why can’t I have it all together like them?”
Financial stress, academic pressure, social media comparison, and burnout are all factors affecting students´ mental health. Why does this matter? If universities don’t address these issues, it leads to long-term consequences, including declining academic performance and emotional exhaustion.
This blog will explore the key contributors to student anxiety – social media, financial pressure,academic pressure, academic expectations, and social isolation – while highlighting solutions that can help turn awareness into action.
Milena
Basic Infos, just so you know
A questionnaire representing Leuphana students shows that 56.1% of students impaired by mental illness. The most common are depression (45.1%), anxiety disorders (27.3%) and eating disorders (15%). Furthermore, the second most frequent cause are chronic-somatic illnesses in general (19.8%) and (7%) dyslexia, dyscalculia, concentration disorders and AD(H)S (Leuphana University Lüneburg (a)).
Meanwhile, in the USA About 65% of college students are in need of mental health resources, but only 13% of overall students will have clear access to it (Preeti Vankar, November 2023).
WWhile 81% of students are aware that their school provides mental health services, about half (40%) believe that their school does not provide enough support to student mental health (Jessica Bryant and Lyss Welding, March 2024)
Jarmila
The Heavy Toll of Financial Stress on University Students
For many university students, financial stress is not just an inconvenience—it is a persistent burden that directly impacts their mental health, academic performance, and overall well-being. The rising cost of tuition, skyrocketing rent, and increasing daily expenses force students into an exhausting cycle of financial insecurity, often requiring them to balance multiple jobs alongside their studies.
Consider Anna, a third-year university student whose reality reflects that of countless others. Her day begins before sunrise with an early shift as a barista, followed by a full schedule of lectures. In the evening, she transitions into her second job as a tutor, often working late into the night just to
stay afloat financially. While her peers unwind or catch up on much-needed sleep, Anna is fighting exhaustion, battling stress, and struggling to keep up with academic deadlines. The relentless pressure to secure financial stability isolates her from social interactions, drains her energy, and exacerbates feelings of burnout.
Jarmilia
This financial strain is not an isolated experience—it is a systemic issue affecting millions of students worldwide. With the rising cost of higher education and insufficient financial aid options, students are increasingly forced to sacrifice their well-being just to afford their education. The question remains: How can universities and policymakers alleviate this burden to ensure that higher education is a place of learning, not survival?
Milena
The Digital Pressure Cooker
While financial stress weighs heavily on students, another invisible force is shaping their mental well-being – social media. What started as a tool for connection and entrainment has evolved into a constant stream of comparison, validation-seeking, and unattainable beauty standards.
Scrolling through Instagram or TikTok, students are bombarded with images of flawless bodies, perfect grades and seemingly effortless success. But behind every “candid“ photo is careful curation, editing, and in many cases, and unrealistic portrayal of reality.
This begs the question: How does social media impacts students´ mental health and what can be done to break the cycle of comparison and self-doubt?
Milena
The Social Media Effect: The Illusion of Perfection
In today’s digital world, students are constantly exposed to carefully curated versions of success.
Whether it’s an influencer seemingly effortless lifestyle, a classmates straight A semester, or a perfectly edited travel photo, social media creates a distorted reality where failure, struggle, and imperfection rarely make an appearance.
What Social Media Breaks in Us: Student Voices
It happens almost without thinking. I open Instagram for just a few minutes – just to check.
But before I know it, I’m caught in a scroll spiral. There she is: another stunning girl, effortlessly beautiful, glowing, standing in perfect lighting, wearing an outfit I could never pull off. I scroll again – another girl, flawless skin, toned body, a dreamlike vacation. I try to remind myself that these images aren’t real, that they’re filtered, edited, curated. But deep down, I still feel it: I’m not enough.
Even though I know the reality behind social media, I still catch myself comparing my body, my life, and my achievements to people who only show the highlight reel of their lives. If I feel this way, I can’t help but wonder – how many other young woman feel the same?
So I asked them.
In my interview with university students around Germany, I asked a simple but profound question:
„What does social media break in you?“
The responses were overwhelmingly similar – confidence, self-worth, peace of mind.
Milena
Solutions and Offers are the key
At the Leuphana the University Service, the Student Administration and the Asta Service have different solutions and services.
The University Service has the Appointee for Students with Disabilities or Chronic Illnesses, who supports in all study-related matters and always free of charge and is confidential. There is the Office for Equal Opportunities that can make adjustments to avoid barriers and takes suggestions from students. To protect the students whenever they have problems with a professor there are the so called “Ombudspersons” who work on voluntary basis and can be contacted whenever there is a suspicion of violation of code of Ethics (Leuphana University Lüneburg (b)). The Student Administration offers individual counseling where students engage in confidential one-on-one sessions with professionals counselors to discuss concerns. They also offer group workshops and sessions on topic as mindfulness and self-compassion. Their additional focus areas are study challenges like exam anxiety, motivation and concentration. Students can also come for advice for personal issues like self-esteem, relationships and loneliness. They also are crisis intervention point for urgent psychological concerns.
The UF in America also has a counselling programme offered by the Counselling and Wellness Centre at UF, which is on campus and accessible for students, and has served 935 students so far this semester. The main issues reported are difficulty concentrating, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. The programme has approximately 55 counsellors available. The majority of students using the service are graduate students and 3rd year undergraduate students. This service is free to UF students with their student ID, as their services are covered by the student health fee.
Jarmila
Turning Awareness into Action
The mental health struggles that university students face today are not just personal challenges—they are the result of larger systemic issues. Financial insecurity and the pressures of social media are not just sources of stress; they shape how students experience higher education and impact their ability to succeed. While individual coping strategies are helpful, real change requires action from universities, policymakers, and students themselves.
Addressing Financial Stress: Making Higher Education More Accessible
One of the most effective ways to improve student mental health is to reduce financial strain.Universities must take responsibility for making education more accessible by expanding scholarships, financial aid programs, and affordable housing options. Many students are forced to juggle multiple jobs just to afford tuition and rent, leaving them with little time to focus on their studies or well-being.
Additionally, universities should introduce mandatory financial literacy courses to help students develop budgeting skills, understand debt, and make informed financial decisions. Money management is rarely taught in schools, yet it is one of the most significant stressors in adulthood. Equipping students with these skills early on can help prevent financial crises later in life.
On an individual level, students can take proactive steps by seeking financial counseling, applying for grants and scholarships, and advocating for policy changes that improve the affordability of higher education. No student should have to choose between paying for their education and taking care of their mental health.
Breaking the Social Media Comparison Cycle
In addition to financial stress, social media has become one of the biggest contributors to student anxiety, particularly among young women. The constant pressure to measure up to filtered images and highlight reels creates unrealistic expectations that lead to self-doubt and decreased self-esteem.
To combat this, universities should promote digital wellness initiatives by offering workshops on media literacy, organizing social media detox challenges, and creating peer-led discussions on self-esteem and mental resilience. Understanding how social media distorts reality is key to reducing its negative impact.
At the individual level, students can take control of their digital well-being by unfollowing accounts that trigger insecurity, taking regular social media breaks, and remembering that what they see online is not an accurate reflection of real life.
Beyond personal action, we also need broader societal change. Advocacy for greater transparency in influencer culture, ethical advertising practices, and regulations on excessive digital manipulation can help shift beauty and success standards toward something more authentic and attainable.
Universities Must Prioritize Mental Health Resources
While financial stress and social media pressures are significant, the lack of accessible mental health support on many campuses is a major issue that needs to be addressed. Far too often, students experiencing anxiety, depression, or burnout do not seek help—not because they don’t need it, but because they don’t know where to find it or they fear the stigma attached to mental health struggles.
Universities need to take active steps to increase the visibility and accessibility of counseling services, mental health hotlines, and peer support programs. Simply offering these resources is not enough—students need to be aware of them, and they need to be easy to access.
Creating safe spaces on campus where students can openly discuss their struggles without judgment can also make a significant difference. Mental health should not be treated as an afterthought—it should be a fundamental part of the student experience.
Milena & Jarmila
From Awareness to Action: What Needs to Happen Next?
The mental health crisis among university students cannot be solved by individual effort alone. It is a structural issue that requires institutional and societal change. Universities, policymakers, and students must work together to build a system where mental well-being is a priority, not an afterthought.
• Universities need to implement policies that reduce financial stress, expand mental health services, and promote digital literacy.
• Students need to take charge of their own well-being by setting boundaries with social media, seeking financial assistance when needed, and speaking out about mental health.
• As a society, we need to stop glorifying burnout, perfectionism, and unrealistic expectations that harm students‘ mental health.
At the end of the day, the question is no longer whether student mental health is a crisis—it is. The real question is: How do we create an education system where students are set up to thrive, rather than just survive?
This conversation is just the beginning. Real change happens when awareness turns into action. The future of student mental health depends on what we do next.
Milena & Jarmila
Sources
Leuphana University Lüneburg (a). (n.g.) https://www.leuphana.de/en/institutions/officefor-equal-opportunities/offers-and-information/study-impairment/studying-with-mentalillnesses.html (20.11.2024)
Leuphana University Lüneburg (b). (n.g.) Leuphana University Lüneburg. https://www.leuphana.de/en/institutions/office-for-equalopportunities/offers-and-information/study-impairment/hardship-application-and-waitingsemesters.html (20.11.2024)
Jessica Bryant and Lyss Welding. (March 22, 2024).https://www.bestcolleges.com/research/college-student-mental-health-statistics/
Preeti Vankar (November 29, 2023). https://www.statista.com/statistics/1126750/barriersto-mental-health-services-college-students-us/
Photo:
Figure 1: Preeti Vankar, November 2023 (https://www.statista.com/statistics/1126750/barriers-tomental-health-services-college-students-us/)
Figure 2: Financial stress (Sarah Allam) (https://dailyorange.com/2019/09/colleges-can-helpstudents-financially-struggling/)
Figure 3: Individual Counceling Team Leuphana (https://stwon.de/l%C3%BCneburg/beratung/pbs/team)
Figure 4: Awareness into Action (https://www.palletone.com/ceo-blog/get-better-every-day/)
Figure 5: Stronger students (https://www.eurokidsindia.com/blog/strategies-to-enhance-academicperformance-and-support-student.php)
