Religion Eases Anxiety for Students

By Joe Bradley

Stonehill College News Blog Journalist

EASTON—When Stonehill College sophomore Simone Payette feels her anxiety building, she turns for help not only to the counseling center but also to her faith.

 “I think they work as a team. My counselor provides help that priests can’t but they are open to my faith, they want what’s best for me. The priests provide help that my counselors can’t, but they support them and want what’s best for me,” said Payette.

 “I know my faith is bigger than my anxiety, even though it is sometimes hard to believe,” said Payette.

Anxiety plagues thousands of people across the country, and college students are certainly not immune from its effects. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), roughly 40 million Americans over the age of 18 feel affected by anxiety.

Today, college students are asked to have many responsibilities as well as meet societal standards and expectations for success.

Students are expected to go to class, maintain a high and prominent GPA, join different organizations, compete for internships, and are pressured to find a high paying job after graduation.

These pressures and expectations are on top many pressures that are not as tangible, such as, living on their own for the first time away from family members, solve conflicts in the dorm room, and being surrounded by alcohol and drugs without supervision.

According to the ADAA many of these worries can cause anxiety, and about one third of those suffering from anxiety seek treatment for it.

To provide further insight, researchers Neil Schnidler and Keely J. Hope of Pewforum on Religion and Public Life, examined how college students use religion to cope with their anxieties.

According to the study, “Commitment and Relatedness: How College Students Use Religious Coping to Manage Anxiety,” published in the Journal of College Counseling in 2013, this idea of using religion to cope with anxiety is taboo because religion can seem at odds with science and psychology.

However, the study found that college students who suffered from anxiety desired their religious background to be accepted and embraced by their therapist.

The study states that a survey conducted in 2007 showed that 92% of Americans professed belief in a God, and 71% were absolutely certain of God’s existence.

By and large, clients wish to discuss their faith in therapy. Members of the clergy may sometimes serve as replacement therapists to students who feel uncomfortable discussing their faith with their mental health counselors,” the study states.

Schnidler and Hope found that religion can create healthy communities and outlets for patients, which can help them cope with their anxieties.

The study said that people leaned heavily on their religious communities for support and characterized their religion as bigger than their anxiety. This was true for people from a variety of faiths.

Payette said when she is feeling anxious that she finds comfort in worshiping with others and attending Mass.

“I absolutely use religion to get through (feeling anxious),” said Payette.

Payette said that she is heavily involved with campus ministry at Stonehill College saying she serves as a Moreau Student Minister, serves a Christ Encounters Retreat Team Leader, runs SPARK, a Christian praise and worship night, sings in Chapel Choir, and tries to attend mass daily.

“I was very faithful growing up. I went to a Catholic high school, and attended World Youth Day, and was very involved with retreats. I wanted to be a part of that here at Stonehill,” said Payette.

She said she relies on her friends in campus ministry, as well as counseling services to get her through the anxiety.

“It is so overwhelming but I’m comforted because God is with me through all of it and suffers alongside me in my struggles. Like I said, my campus ministry friends are great and pray with me and for me through it all,” said Payette.

Payette said that her counselors have been very understanding and supportive of her faith, and encouraged her to explore it further and deeper.

She said that she has also received positive help from the clergy, and that she relies on them for support as well.

“I think they work as a team. My counselor provides help that priests can’t but they are open to my faith, they want what’s best for me. The priests provide help that my counselors can’t, but they support them and want what’s best for me,” said Payette.

Phillip Pereira, campus minister for music and liturgy at Stonehill College, said he sees plenty of students struggling with anxiety and thinks faith and music are great ways to deal with those struggles.

 “I see it a lot. Students are always stressed and worried about the future. I try to tell them to relax and be where their feet are. I think Chapel Choir provides a great support system in the community and an outlet and release for them in the liturgical music. Saint John Paul the Second said when you sing, you pray twice so I think that helps them let it go,” said Pereira.

Pereira said that he has not received formal training in ministering to students with anxiety, but that many in the office of campus ministry have received this training.

Pereira also said that he is honored that students come to him in times of distress, and he is glad to talk about their faith as well as anxieties.

Father Anthony Szakaly said that campus ministry complements services students can access at counseling services.

 “From my experience, counseling services has always been supportive of us and our ministry. We received good training on it in seminary, and I use that training quite frequently here,” said Szakaly.

Szakaly said that that he often encourages students to take a deep breath, and know that what is consuming them does not define who they are.

He said he tries to calm students down by suggesting they take a prayer walk around the pond and offer their struggles to Jesus in the example of the cross.

“I think the community here really helps students, I think they find support in one another. The faith and the community is bigger than the anxiety and I think that helps a lot,” said Szakaly.

He said he often tells students to seek counseling services and that he thinks that it is a great resource on campus.

Szakaly said he believes that the two resources should work hand in hand and with each other and that they both want what is best for the student.

“I’ll use whatever resources I can to minister to a student, and make them feel safe, and help them see Christ,” said Szakaly.