Post-Secondary Institutions Work to Address Student Anxiety, Offer Support
August 30, 2019 |by Nicole Thompson
For Jenna Kaplan, the thought of taking a day off from university to manage her anxiety disorder only made her feel worse.
The now-23-year-old graduate student remembers grappling with panic attacks and sky-high stress levels during her undergraduate degree at Concordia University while trying to shine in a highly competitive theatre program.
Tests and social events — cornerstones of the university experience — were triggers, but she’d try to push through. When she sought help in first year, she was told she’d have to wait five months to see a psychologist at the school. Eventually, it all took a toll.