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College kids coping with abrupt transition from campus life to home

BOSTON — They went from campus life, to life back at home without much notice. And many college students are feeling it.

“Approach college students as if they’re going through grief, because they've been pulled out of their college life,” says Dr. Mary Mason, founder of the Little Medical School.

“They’re in denial, ‘This can’t be happening, I had all these plans, they’re gone,’" said Mason. "They go into anger, 'Why is this happening, why me?’ Bargaining, ‘If I do all this, maybe it will get better,’ then depression hits, they’re sleeping all day, not eating.”

Mason says watching a college student go through those stages can be difficult. So she suggests simple things you can do to help get your child through to the “acceptance” stage.

Remind them this is probably a once in a lifetime event they’ll tell their grand kids about.

Think about keeping a journal to put the feelings of what are you going through on paper.

Teach them simple life skills that you may not have had time to do before like how to cook or put a garden together.

And try to help them think about their summer plans in a constructive way.

“Maybe that internship isn’t traveling to New York, maybe it’s going to be virtual - and working through those options is really really important,” Mason added.