Ferris State presented staff and students the opportunity to get an inside look at the effects that anxiety has on memory and concentration.
The IRC hosted the cognitive development event Monday, Feb. 10, in room 107. It also had a focus on helping students overcome issues with anxiety. The event focused on teaching students and staff how to recognize when a student has anxiety and how they could possibly help.
Anxiety is one of the most common forms of mental illness among young adults, especially college students. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 18.1% of adults in the United States suffer from this disorder each year.
“This event is designed to shed light on how cognition is interrupted by anxiety. It is designed from an education stance so that preservice teachers can think about possible ways to handle students that may have anxiety,” said Andrea Kitomary, student retention program coordinator and event coordinator of this event.
Preservice teachers got a first-hand look at how to identify anxiety and how to help future students who may have anxiety. Once in the field, preservice teachers will have the knowledge and skills to react to situations.
“I believe it could make a huge impact on kids dealing with anxiety issues, especially if the teacher can notice the problem and resolve it before it gets worse,” Hunter Cleland, junior of Plastics Engineering and Technology program said.
Students got a chance to understand the cognitive development stages of the brain and learn strategies to cope with memory and concentration issues.
According to The American Institute of Stress, more than 18 million students enrolled in college in 2017, and 1.3 million of them expressed anxiety within their first year.
This event was able to help students of all majors, as well as preservice teachers, notice the effects of anxiety and how it blocks memory and concentration.
Ferris freshman, Josh Wieber, a manufacturing engineering technology major, said he would like to understand better what people are going through and what is on their mind each day. Josh was also interested in how people deal with anxiety on an every-day basis.
The cognitive development event serves is an important topic for most students who suffer from mental illness each day.
Ferris offers a personal counseling center for students dealing with a variety of different illnesses. For more information, to acquire help on this topic, visit Birkham Health Center on the Ferris website.