The Effect of Depression in Academia Depression, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is an illness where the affected finds a loss of interest or pleasure in daily life for more than two weeks. This loss of interest in daily life often leads to lack of concentration as well as impaired social, occupational, and educational functions. Depression in school-aged children has been on the rise for the past 4 decades in America (Youngminds.org.uk). This rise has caused many researchers to question how depression can affect a student’s education from elementary school to college. It is well established that depression can cause a multitude of difficulties in people of all ages, including mental, emotional, and …show more content…
Depressed students may pretend to be sick or cut class because they feel, as Arthur Schoenstadt MD states, “too overwhelmed by their school work or too depressed to leave the house” (Livestrong.com). The feeling of being overwhelmed can make someone with depression completely shut down and avoid all responsibilities. Students with depression also commonly exhibit a lack of motivation and concentration, which can severely impact their education. Researchers have found that, “prolonged dips in mood can greatly impact a student’s ability to study and perform” (jhsap.org). This especially hurts college students, as their academic success is more heavily reliant on self-motivation and concentration as opposed to high school and grade school. This difficulty staying motivated and concentrated is often passed of by educators and laziness. This assumption often negatively affects the way an educator may treat a student, and results in an even more negative experience for the student. Another common issue that depressed students encounter is test anxiety. “Students with test anxiety often find themselves rendered physically and/or emotionally unable to take an exam” (Burgstahler, Rickerson & Souma, 2001). Test anxiety can cause a student to feel isolated from their peers, and lead them to withdraw socially. When a student feels they are isolated from other students, they will avoid …show more content…
Research indicates that taking an individualized approach to helping depressed students in school is the most effective route. “School personnel must educate themselves on the characteristics and effects of depression, so they can provide the most effective interventions. Educators are responsible for not only meeting the academic needs of depressed students, but also ensuring their safety and welfare” (Crundwell & Killu, 2010). Research has found a few common strategies that help students organize their schoolwork, practice positive social habits, and increase focus within the classroom. The British Columbia Ministry of Education published a detailed handbook meant for teachers, principals, and other educators that goes into depth on the different strategies and how they impact students in a positive way. This handbook states that the most important thing an educator can do to accommodate students with depression is to make the classroom a welcoming environment. “ It is important for teachers to believe that they can make a difference in the lives of students and that all students can learn in their classrooms, even when they are depressed. The emotional tone of a classroom is powerful, especially to students with depression” (Naylor 2001). Providing this welcoming environment
While it can affect anyone, statistics have also shown that some may be more prone to depression. A main group of individuals to look out for are young adolescents, especially college students, who are constantly under stress and often times are unaware of how to relieve such emotions. Stress is a frequent issue that contributes to signs of depression, not only in students but also in adolescents as well. Despite the frequent occurrence of the illness, it is treatable in many ways. Some treatments include medications, psychotherapy, and exercise. With more understanding of the illness, more options of treatment are likely to come in the near future. The best treatment is however, is the support from friends and family. It is extremely important for depressed individuals to know that they are not alone in fighting the illness and that others are fighting with
It is known that depression is a growing issue, but the question is why it is continuing to affect more and more people, specifically students. It is difficult to pinpoint a specific cause when there are so many theories as to what exactly causes depression. Some argue that it is genetic while others say it is a result of too much stress. This is not to say that there is only one cause of depression, but there has to be a reason why the number of depressed students has been increasing in the recent years.
Depression in school-age children may be one of the most overlooked and under treated psychological disorders of childhood, presenting a serious mental health problem. Depression in children has become an important issue in research due to its many emotional forms, and its relationship to self-destructive behaviors. Depressive disorders are of particular importance to school psychologists, who are often placed in the best position to identify, refer, and treat depressed children. Procedures need to be developed to identify depression in students to avoid allowing those children struggling with depression to go undetected. Depression is one of the most treatable forms of disorders, with an 80-90% chance of improvement if individuals receive treatment (Dubuque, 1998). On the other hand, if untreated, serious cases of depression in childhood can be severe, long, and interfere with all aspects of development, relationships, school progress, and family life (Janzen, & Saklofske, 1991).
Studies show that up to nine percent of teenagers meet criteria for depression at any one time, with as many as one in five teens having a history of depression at some point during adolescence (Cheung et al., 2007). Symptoms in adolescents can manifest differently than in adults due to the physical and social challenges that teenagers encounter. Some of the challenges that teenagers encounter that might lead to depression are peer pressure, changes due to developing bodies, changing hormone levels, peer pressure and sports among others. These challenges present in a teenager’s life can cause high levels of stress and anxiety that affect the teenager’s life in different areas such as school, work, family and their personal, social and family lives. Due to the challenges confronted when living with depression, it is completely necessary to seek professional help once symptoms
Depression is a serious mental health illness which affects an individuals’ mind, body and mood. It is a chronic and lifelong health condition (NICE, 2006) thought to be caused by a number of biological factors including neurotransmitter disturbances in the brain and an element of genetic vulnerability; these are often in addition to psychosocial factors such as the occurrence of undesirable life events, limited social network options, poor self esteem and the occurrence of any adverse life events during a persons’ lifetime (Bernstein, 2006). Depression can have an impact on a persons’ ability to do many things including working, engaging with others, participating fully in family life or maintaining relationships, and it can also impact on a person...
Is childhood generally a happy and carefree time without any significant pressure and burden? Surprisingly, it is not the case. Clinical depression, a severe mental problem that is characterized by a persistent depressive disorder, is largely influencing children in our society (NIMH "Depression"). Depression rates among young people in America have been increasing steadily for the past fifty to seventy years (Gray). Research shows that today, one in five children in the world have a diagnosable mental, emotional or behavioral disorder, and up to one in ten may suffer from a serious emotional disturbance (Sokolova 1). Unfortunately, even though the issue of childhood depression has become so serious, it is still an often thought among the public
Clinical depression goes beyond sadness or having a bad day. It is a form of mental illness that affects the way one feels, thinks, and acts. Depression in children can lead to failure in school, alcohol or other drug abuse and even suicide. The warning signs of depression fall into four different categories: emotional signs, cognitive signs (those involving thinking), physical complaints, and behavioral changes. Depending upon the degree of depression, a child may experience a few symptoms or many. Also, the severity of each symptom may vary. According to the CQ Researcher, "School
In unit seven, this learner took part in a debate involving the causes of depression. Depression is a debilitating mental disorder that can be detrimental to a person’s way of living. For centuries, psychologists and researchers have been searching for a single cause of depression, identifying two perspectives to date. The cognitive-behavioral perspective includes influences of faulty thinking that develops from low self-esteem and or a learned helplessness. In addition, cognitive-behavioral perspective indicates environmental influences such as poor living conditions and socioeconomic issues as causes of depression. However, this learner presented evidence along with personal experiences to support the biological perspective of the debate.
This article illustrates a couple of real-life stories of teenagers who faced depression and had to somehow deal with it. One of the teenagers, Brianne, described how she tried to kill herself because she was so depressed. She described her mental state by saying: “It was like a cloud that followed me everywhere. I couldn’t get away from it.” She started drinking and experimenting with drugs. At a certain point, Brianne could not take it anymore. Once, she was caught shoplifting at a store and after her mother brought her home, Brianne swallowed every single Tylenol and Advil that there was in the house. She was rushed to the hospital and survived. Brianne has been treated for her depression and is now in college and leads a very healthy lifestyle. She is one of the lucky kids that survived, but a lot of times, when depression in kids goes unnoticed, the outcomes are very tragic.
Adolescent despondency affects the way an individual sleeps, eats, the way they feel about themselves and those around them (“Side Effects of Untreated Depression”). This particular mental disease changes the outlook on a teenager’s view on themselves, loved ones, and their surroundings. Depression can be a responsive action to certain situations, such as emotional trauma, and stress. It can have devastating, and in some cases, life threatening, effects on younger members of society. Due to the fact that normal, unaffected teenagers naturally have fluctuating moods, it is much more difficult to diagnose depression at this age.
“About 5 percent of children and adolescents suffer from depression” at any given point in time (AACAP, 2015). It is important for parents to be aware of the signs of depression, according to the DSM-5 if one or more signs constantly persist such as: sadness, decreased activities, low self-esteem, isolation, sensitivity, causing trouble at home or school, poor concentration just to name a few, the parent should seek professional help for the child. The good news about this illness is that depression is a treatable illness however, the key is early diagnosis and treatment for the child. Many individuals are not familiar with what depression is and how to identify its symptoms, Depression is a serious illness among American teens, in today’s society many children and adolescents are more fragile emotionally than teens 10 or 20 years ago. According to American Psychological Association “depression is more than just sadness. People with depression may experience a lack of interest and pleasure in daily activities, significant weight loss or gain, insomnia or excessive sleeping, lack of energy, inability to concentrate, feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide” (APA,
As it has been proven, students and depression across campuses are becoming more common daily, and it must be taken as a serious matter. There are many causes that result in depression, such as personal stress and academic stress. This severely influences a student’s life and can bring about extreme negative outcomes like suicide or eating disorders. Luckily, there are cures for this major issue. Counseling centers and mentors in the classroom and in residence halls can impact a student’s overall well-being and attitude towards his or her daily life. Depression, in conclusion, is an extremely dangerous mental illness that, if not cured with the correct treatments, could become detrimental to students across the globe.
Depression plagues over about 121 million people worldwide suffer from some form of depression. On average 1 out of every 10 people in the U.S. suffer from Depression. Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behavior, feelings and sense of well-being (www). Depression is unbiased in whom it chooses to plague. Anyone and everyone can become a victim of depression, including children. And twice as many women have been reported to be affected than men. In order to defeat depression, we must first begin to understand it. Depression is more than a feeling, it is a disease.
Mental health professionals classify depression as a disorder that affects a person’s thoughts and feelings. “At some point during their lifetime, depression plagues 17 percent of U.S. adults.” (Myers, 2006 p. 621) In the year 2000, 76% of college students felt “overwhelmed” and 22% were unable to function as a result of their depression (American College Health Association, 2001). Major depressive disorder is characterized by extreme...
Both adults and children have bad days. Some days are worse than others. Sometimes the bad days seem to never end. They can last for weeks, months, or even years. When this happens, it is known as depression. Depression is a psychological illness that changes the way that you think and feel while also affecting your sense of physical health and social interactions. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 10 adults reported having depression. That may seem troubling, but the most troubling statistic is that about 11 percent of adolescents have a depressive disorder by age 18 according to the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A). As the child gets older, their risk of becoming depressed also