College is often painted as “the best years of your life.” But for many students, especially those who are first-generation, BIPOC, or juggling complex home lives, those “best years” are filled with anxiety, comparison, and silence.
In our recent conversation with counselor and professor Naziat Hassan, we get real about the crisis colleges are quietly ignoring: the emotional unraveling of their students.
There’s no handbook. In college, you're expected to figure it out alone. And for students who already feel like outsiders, that silence can feel suffocating.
The Insecurity Epidemic on Campus
Insecurity is the undercurrent. It’s woven into conversations (or lack thereof) about belonging, capability, and worth. It shows up in procrastination, absences, and the overwhelming fear of asking for help. For first-gen and BIPOC students, the pressure is even higher. When you’ve been compared your whole life, you start comparing yourself. And that’s where the insecurity sets in.
College doesn’t just lack the emotional scaffolding; it actively discourages it. There’s shame in not having it together. And asking for help? That’s still seen as weakness.
When Campus Support Fails, Students Spiral Silently
We cannot keep pretending that college stress is just “a normal phase” or that students will simply “figure it out.” The truth? This is a mental health crisis wrapped in GPA pressure and tuition debt. And the ones suffering most are the ones schools claim to be “diversifying” for.
Naziat explains that students are balancing school, work, home life, immigration issues, and still showing up for midterms. That’s not resilience. That’s survival mode.
Professors Are Not Robots Either
Let’s be clear: even those supporting students are struggling. As a professional and mom of two, Naziat shares, she struggles too.
Her vulnerability reminds us that titles don’t shield you from insecurity. Behind the counselor’s chair is a human being who’s also navigating identity, pressure, and healing.
Let’s Stop Comparing and Start Connecting
“I'm South Asian and that happens a lot in South Asian communities where children are compared like, you know, this student, this person, so and so's daughter got all A’s this semester and you got one B.” Naziat explains. “Where did that A go? Or this person got a 98 and you got 96. Where are the other four points?”
That constant comparison bleeds into adulthood… into our work, our relationships, and our self-worth.
But what if we turned comparison into collaboration?
“I’ve stopped seeing other women as competition. I ask: ‘How do you do it?’ I want to work with people who inspire me, not tear them down,” she says. Let’s normalize that. Let’s make “I admire you, teach me” the new flex.
What Needs to Change on Campus
Mental health isn’t a checkbox. It's not a one-and-done orientation video or a half-assed referral to an overbooked campus therapist. It’s an ongoing conversation, a culture shift. It’s professors trained in emotional intelligence. It’s destigmatizing therapy. It’s asking, “You good?” and actually meaning it.
We need real dialogue. We need vulnerability from the top down. And we need to acknowledge that the emotional labor students are doing just to exist in these systems is enough to earn them a degree in survival.
About Naziat Hassan
Naziat Hassan, LMHC, LPC, NCC (she/her/hers) received her Bachelor of Arts from Queens College of the City University of New York and Master of Science in Education in Mental Health Counseling from Hunter College at the City University of New York. Naziat is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor at the Counseling Center of Queensborough Community College in Bayside, New York, where she sees students for personal and academic counseling, coordinates health events for students, and teaches Introduction to College freshman seminar.
She is also a Licensed Professional Counselor in New Jersey. She is a National Certified Counselor and has extensive experience working with diverse, underserved populations, especially families, adolescents, and young adults affected by trauma, abuse, substance abuse, and various other issues. Aside from being a counselor, Naziat is an avid advocate for access to quality mental health services in underrepresented and underserved communities. She has hosted and presented on various mental health topics at workshops and educational seminars.
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