The Impact of Student Debt on Mental Health of Graduates

Have you ever found yourself feeling hopeless about the future due to owing large amounts of debt? Such is the case of most graduates who took loans to fund their studies but are unable to pay due to lack of securing jobs after graduation. Student debts have negative effects on the mental, physical, and psychological lives of borrowers. In order to escape the mental health burden that comes with student debt, most graduates have been forced to make sacrifices such as delaying starting a family or staying in unsatisfactory jobs. However, temporary jobs have been short-term strategies as the debt amount has kept increasing due to accumulating interest rates.

Take the case of Maya, a 38-year-old blogger who wished to be an accountant thirteen years ago and decided to enroll in an accounting course. Two years after her graduation, she was unable to secure a job and decided to go back and study Masters in Business Administration. Despite having both degrees, it was hard for her to secure a well-paying job following the economic recession in her country. After depleting her savings, sharing an apartment with a friend, and hustling to earn some income, she still struggled to pay off her accumulating student debt. Her anxiety surrounding her debt heightened, and she felt shame for going to prestigious universities and being unable to secure a permanent job. In 2017, she started a blog sharing her experiences with student loan debt that gave her financial freedom to pay off her loans. Maya says that she gets heartbreaking responses from her blogs from people who are mentally impacted by the student loan debts.

Maya’s story is an example of what most graduates go through in different countries. While most students don’t talk about it, debt burden can cause various mental health issues, including feelings of shame, anxiety, and prolonged stress. Findings from a 2023 mental health survey done to a group of employed graduates in Senegal revealed that 5 in 12 student loan borrowers experienced suicidal ideation (Wu, 2024). The ratio can be higher among unemployed graduates looking for jobs. It also leads to depression, which makes many youths turn to drinking and abusing alcohol to escape from the reality of debt repayment.

To avoid being a victim of the mental health issues caused by student loan debts after graduation, it is crucial to take various steps. The first is to seek therapy to lessen the worry of feeling trapped in debts. While therapy may not write off the debts, it will go a long way in helping one to focus on things that will generate income to repay the loans. The second is becoming an entrepreneur or a freelancer to gain financial independence. Just like Maya, venturing into something different will help in creating passive income to help repay loans. The third is looking for a part-time job while studying to avoid borrowing huge amounts of loans. Income from part-time jobs can help students pay off tuition and borrow less. Always remember that taking student loans is not a crime, but proper planning will go a long way in saving you from being a victim of mental issues related to repaying it.

By Beryl Wakhungu

References:
Wu, F., Freeman, G., Wang, S., & Flores, I. (2024). The future of college student mental health: Student perspectives. Journal of College Student Mental Health, 38(4), 975-1010. https://doi.org/10.1080/28367138.2024.2400612