Neoliberalism and The Student Mental Health Crisis

By Elias IV Espina Roman / Winter 2020

Sad, depressed and critical—what do you think of as you read these words? Are you remembering a movie that brought you to tears? Do they bring about old memories of the past long forgotten? Maybe a boring job comes to mind? Or perhaps it incited in you a personal, familiar feeling? What if I express to you that students are entrapped in this vicious cycle of emotions at a more negative, harmful level?

As a student, I have been driven and taught to see each day as an opportunity to learn, study and foster individual growth—and to some extent this is true. There is a profound respect for productivity, the ability to commit oneself to one or more tasks and continue to the next. Society itself praises this mindset, because it is a beneficial factor in producing market value. In fact, success in educational institutions and businesses is geared towards and more reachable for those strong-willed and devoted. But there is an inherent flaw in this perception of life—what about the individuals, the students, that fail to meet these expectations? Are we meant to reach for the stars and succeed every single time? The downside of such a mindset is that students are perceived as empty shells to be filled with hollow phrases such as “You can do it!” and “Just keep trying!”. Seldom are students given the opportunity to hear “It is going to be okay” or “It is normal and okay to fail”—everything is instead driven towards success.

I have had experiences in which I completely despised myself for failing an exam or assignment. I have had others where I blamed myself continuously for days and forced punishments on myself, such as not eating or playing video games, as a means of motivation and self-atonement. I have repeatedly thought to myself, “You’re better than this,” and, “Just try harder next time.” I always pointed the finger at myself and nothing else. In my eyes, failure was the result of a personal problem, a lack of commitment and responsibility, that could be resolved by stitching together the holes, the inadequacies, in myself. I recall being so incredibly caught in the motions of growth and success and the never-ending cycle of blame that I began to fail in other areas. I neglected spending time with family; I instead focused on finishing assignments and studying for exams. I thought to myself, “They understand how important education is. They understand that time is valuable. They understand me.” I didn’t message friends for weeks, even months. And I grew distant with long-time friends—but constantly I thought, “Friends are understanding. True friends stick together no matter what.” I also stopped indulging in hobbies, such as drawing and creating music, for the same reasons. But there is a reason for all of this, and one that is not immediately clear. The excuses I created in order to achieve societal success and the cycle of self-reproach that I experienced are the result of a monster embedded within the confinements of societal culture. This monster drives and dictates the individual mind into a warped sense of reality in which passion and failure are less important than societal values and success. In essence, the passion that encapsulates the creativity and freedom of an individual and the failures that teach individuals to overcome obstacles are cast aside for the constant need to succeed. “Failure is not an option. Success is everything. Failure to succeed is your fault,” this monster whispers. This monster is neoliberalism—and it is affecting the physical and mental health of students on a daily basis.

But what is neoliberalism? First and foremost, it has no definitive definition. It lingers in the invisible parts of society and controls and reshapes societal culture to be more market oriented. As writer George Monbiot expresses, “Its anonymity is both a symptom and cause of its power...[neoliberalism] arose as a conscious attempt to reshape human life and shift the locus of power” (Monbiot). In other words, it is an ideology that has explored and nested the depths of the ocean, monitoring the sea and influencing its inhabitants as would a dangerous chemical. Then, to truly understand neoliberalism requires an understanding of the different mechanisms that mold it. At the heart, neoliberalism favors competition. It bathes in the delight of the atomization of society into a battleground of consumers and competitors, each pondering the methods in which to achieve success and only success. This is akin to the methods used by corporate elites during the Gilded Age to control the working-class. The elites, frightened at the possibility of being displaced, propagated a culture of competition among the general population as a means to delegate the problem of financial instability to the individual, as opposed to the prejudiced structures and systems within society. Here, the responsibility lies on the individual. Monbiot further states, “Neoliberalism sees competition as the defining characteristic of human relations. It redefines citizens as consumers...[and] rewards merit and punishes inefficiency” (Monbiot). That of which binds society together at the atomic level is inadequate to the monster. The essential has become the ability to compete—to bring to the table as many advantageous cards as possible, whether that be achieved through sheer hardship or inheritance. Consider the shift of society from liberalism to neoliberalism. No longer is the mindset “we as individuals are a part of society”—the emphasis has become “no society exists, only individuals,” as Margaret Thatcher claims. Thus with neoliberalism comes anomie, a term coined by Durkheim to describe the state in which social bonds are tarnished and disintegrated.

And so to reiterate: what is neoliberalism? It is the monster that has shaped society into a market-driven battleground where competition persists as the dominant belief for achieving success. The beautiful image of people interlocking arms and hands in the face of adversity and racial prejudice during the Civil Rights movement has been replaced by an image of disconnectedness. There is no sense of community. And the measure of success has ceased to exist within the imagination of the individual—success is defined by the rules of the market. This is neoliberalism.

For students this is the worst outcome—and this ties to an earlier narration of neoliberalism. The competitive nature of neoliberalism influences students to aim past the boundaries of the seeable universe. The spaceship in which the students ride on only moves forward; seldom does it spend the time to reverse or stop. Neoliberalism in essence fosters a sense of heightened competition among students to succeed against other students and themselves. “There is no I in team” has become a reality. The actions, then, that a student undergoes become incessantly driven towards success. The market demands it—“You wish to thrive in my environment? You must be successful.” This means the actions that are generally not attributed to success are less important and desirable. Imagine this: you are a college student whose goals are to get the highest grade in the class. What becomes of your decisions? Indulge in hobbies? Maybe another time. Studying is more important. Spend time with friends? Perhaps not. I need time to study. Take a rest day? I should be productive instead. The thirst to succeed drives students to become robots with the singular purpose of achieving educational success in order to fit within the confines of the market, a neoliberal-induced system, albeit losing arguably the more important elements of life, our friends and loved ones, passion for hobbies, and ourselves.

And what comes as the result of failure? What happens when such students, those whose minds have been poisoned by the monster, fail? Self-reproach. Sense of worthlessness. Sense of disappointment. Breakdown. These feelings and actions begin to encroach their minds and manifest, fostering an endless cycle of guilt. Remember that the monster points the blame at the individual. In an educational environment, students are constantly under the pressure of failing—we are always given assignments, exams, and projects. No student can handle all of this. Failure is inevitable, but to the monster failure is a personal failure. The fault lies on the individual and only the individual. Consider this statement from Andy Andrews:

I am saying that outside influences are not responsible for where you are mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, or financially. You have chosen the pathway to your present destination. The responsibility for your situation is yours.

This is the belief of neoliberalism. According to a 2020 survey conducted by Sarah Ketchen Lipson, 39% of students screened positive for depression and 34% for anxiety disorder (3). In addition, the research reveals that 83% of students attributed emotional or mental difficulties as impediments to academic performance (6). Isabella Kwai and Elian Peltier in an article describe that two-thirds of 18 to 29 year-olds potentially have anxiety and depression. This is reality. The monster places a tremendous burden on students to succeed. It implores that success be at the center of our minds. But the pressure is too immense—the pedestal of success is too high—and there is no cushion for failure. We are driven to reach for the pedestal, and some will prevail, but one slip is all that is needed for the rebound, the endless cycle of guilt, to surface.

But students is a broad term—and neoliberalism discriminates. This means that neoliberal ideologies are more dangerous to students with significant disadvantages. Not all students begin at the same level on the playing field. This is important. Consider students from low-income families. Are these students provided the same resources and benefits as wealthier students? Do these students experience education the same as the more privileged students? No. Students from such families are constrained to less resources and propelled to repeatedly be the best version of themselves in order to thrive in a neoliberal society. And in some cases the best version is not sufficient. Consider the following statistics. According to Valerie Wilson, the 2019 median income of Hispanics and Blacks are $56,113 and $46,073, respectively, while that of Asians and Whites are $98,174 and $76,057. Moreover, the 2019 poverty rate of Hispanics and Blacks under age 18 fall in the range of 15% to 20%, respectively, while that of Asians and Whites under age 18 are below 10%. As stated, there is an increasingly large income disparity among ethnic groups in the United States, with specific minorities overwhelmingly at the bottom. AAC&U News details that the 2016 college enrollment rate of Hispanic and Black high-school or equivalent graduates from ages 16 to 24 was 70.6% and 56.5%, respectively. With these considered, the proportion of students from under-resourced, less-privileged backgrounds and families is more clear. It is undeniably large. This means that a substantial number of students are at a disadvantage. And these students are the ones that must work harder than the rest. The disadvantages also become a motivation for these students to succeed, but paired with neoliberalism this becomes dangerous. To be the best version of ourselves in our society means flourishing in school to prepare ourselves for the playing field, but when our potential is seemingly restricted by external factors, such as low-income, we inevitably place a greater importance on the need to succeed. And so when failure occurs for students with disadvantages, the rebound is much worse.

Given all of this, we might ask: “Why aren’t we doing anything about it?” Well, it is difficult. There are obstacles that must be surpassed—and we, ourselves, are the obstacles. We develop habits over time. We become what we have experienced, are experiencing and will experience. When the monster finds itself in these experiences, we are molded into machines that are coded for success. Our thoughts and actions become a means to succeed—they must be to the monster. We begin to subconsciously choose actions that only lead to success, and our decisions become based on the success rate of achieving success. Worst of all, the monster is so ingrained in our society that students develop these habits at a young age. It is a poisoning system.

But there are possible solutions—perhaps those of which can be the first step into pushing past these obstacles. On the macro-level, we can raise awareness of neoliberalism. We can form groups and protest in different areas. We need to create a ripple that can reach the inhabited areas of the monster. Books such as Red State Revolt, a discussion of strikes across the United States in demand of higher wages for teachers and more funding for students, is one ripple. The opposing opinion of UCSD staff towards an increase in tuition and the movement to end student debt are other ripples. The history of the United States can be described in one sentence: there is power together in the face of adversity. If we are able to raise awareness of the existence of neoliberalism and the problems that it causes for students, then we can increase our chances of defeating the monster together. On the micro-level, the self is important. Remember that we, ourselves, and our habitual nature are obstacles that must be hurdled. This means that we must regain our consciousness. We need to choose actions that are not necessarily centered at success. If you want to take a break, then take a break. If you want to spend time with friends, then go spend time with friends. If you have time for yourself, then spend the day for yourself. Don’t let the monster tell you otherwise. We have to reshape ourselves into individuals where success is not always the focal point. In this excerpt from The Port Huron Statement, Tom Hayden writes:

We regard men as infinitely precious and possessed of unfulfilled capacities for reason, freedom and love. In affirming these principles we are aware of countering perhaps the dominant conceptions of man in the twentieth century: that he is a thing to be manipulated, and that he is inherently capable of directing his own affairs. We oppose the depersonalization that reduces human beings to the status of things...

The forgotten elements of life must be remembered. Reason, freedom and love—neoliberalism has warped these human characteristics into neoliberal ideologies. Our reason has transformed into a reason to succeed; our freedom has become an enslavement to the pursuit of success; and our love has been manipulated to be an addiction to success. Everything is about success—and this is what we must oppose. In sum, if we can raise awareness of neoliberalism at the macro-level, and as individuals we start to make decisions that are against the norms of a neoliberal society at the micro-level, then change can be made. We can change society for the better. Even if the short-term effects are not significant, the goal of our fight is to eventually break free from the monster and improve students’ mental health. This is what is important. This is what the fight is about. And unlike the unreachable pedestal of success that neoliberalism has created, this is a future that we can all reach together.

I ask of you only to consider the words of a student. I am not a professor with a professional degree. I am not an avid student activist with knowledge about the political and social climate of the United States. I am only a student, but one that has suffered losses in the hands of neoliberalism. I understand the endless cycle of guilt and painful aftermath of self-reproach. I understand the extreme hunger for success and the decline of oneself from an individual to a cog in the system. I have experienced the monster first-hand, so I know in my heart that I genuinely wish for no one else to experience it. The future is bright, but it has the potential to be so much brighter. Therefore for the sake of such a future I hope that ripples of truth and desire for change can echo throughout our society. I hope that it can scare the monster into hiding behind the crevices of our history books. Most of all, I hope that you can join us in this fight towards a better future for our society and students.

Works Cited

Dedman, Ben. “College Students Are More Diverse Than Ever. Faculty and Administrators Are Not.” Association of American Colleges & Universities, Mar. 2019.

Hedges, Chris. “American Anomie.” Truthdig, 24 Sept. 2018.

Kwai, Isabella, and Elian Peltier. “'What's the Point?' Young People's Despair Deepens as Covid-19 Crisis Drags On.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 Feb. 2021.

Lipson, Sarah Ketchen. The Healthy Minds Study. The Healthy Minds Network, 2020.

Monbiot, George. “Neoliberalism – the Ideology at the Root of All Our Problems.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 15 Apr. 2016.

Naughten, Sarah. “UC Tuition Will Not Increase.” The Triton, The Triton, 4 Feb. 2021.

Taylor, Astra. “You Are Not a Loan.” The Intercept, 25 Jan. 2021.

Wilson, Valerie. “Racial Disparities in Income and Poverty Remain Largely Unchanged amid Strong Income Growth in 2019.” Economic Policy Institute, 16 Sept. 2020, 10:49 am..

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