Anyone who experiences mental illness, or has a loved one who does, knows that it's terrible. A potential rising trend among college kids is also.

In a Wall Street Journal article about the increase of students seeking help from university counseling centers, the lede features Ohio State students sharing the anxiety they would experience from receiving test results during a counseling session:

On a recent Thursday afternoon at Ohio State University, about 30 students sit in a classroom listening to instructor Kipp Pietrantonio lecture. “Imagine you were just handed your physics test, what would happen?” he asks.

You sweat,” calls out one student.

“Your heart starts racing,” says a young woman.

Writer Andrea Petersen, a Michigan alumnus, goes on to include counseling rates for 3 schools: Ohio State, Michigan, and Central Florida:

Ohio State has seen a 43% jump in the past five years in the number of students being treated at the university’s counseling center. At the University of Central Florida in Orlando, the increase has been about 12% each year over the past decade. At the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, demand for counseling-center services has increased by 36% in the last seven years.

None of these figures are good. Relatively though, it appears that Ohio State may be having the biggest problem.

Is Petersen so low as to use Mental Health to make her school look better than a sports rival? You be the judge.

Also, a friendly reminder: if you or someone you know is experiencing signs of mental illness - please reach out. Life is tough...someone cares about you...we're all in this together.