Depression Among Incoming College Freshmen: Causes and Challenges

824 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays on homesickness in college students

Depression can cause incoming college freshman many problems in their new lifestyle. The transition from high school to college is a very big change in their life’s. Some students have to take the journey to a whole other town, city, or even to another state. The distance from home, family, and friends, can cause students to be in a depressed state. The new atmosphere of college is very exciting to students; but at times very scary. For some students, adapting to classes and all of their homework can get overwhelming thus that can cause depression. It is clear to see that college freshman are thrown many obstacles, but depression is a hard one to avoid. Having your loved ones wake you up every morning for school and preparing you for your day for 17-18 years is something you become accustomed to in life. Within a year you can go from that to having just an alarm waking you up. Becoming homesick is a main cause for depression in college students. Giving up your friends that you have grown up with and learning how to make new friends also adds to the cause of depression. Isolation is a leading cause …show more content…

Having to adapt to a new place and new people can intimidating to some. Anxiety plays a huge role in some students lives, and with anxiety also comes depression. Every college student at some point in time feels down and stressed in school and life. Dori Hutchinson, director of services at BU’s Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, says that “When your mood state interferes with your ability to function in school is when a student is claimed depressed”. Trying to escape this curse can be frustrating and sometimes can feel hopeless to fix. Many colleges offer help for students with this problem. Linda Smith, director of BU’s Center for Anxiety & Related Disorders, says that programs like cognitive-behavioral treatment can put students back on track to living a healthy and much happier

Show More
Related

  • SU Case Study

    811 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mental Wellness is a topic that many were almost completely silent about until very recently. However, in recent years it has become more and more discussed and - as a result of the fast paced, technology driven lives most college students are living - mental health issues have become more prevalent. For these reasons, Mental Wellness is a topic with lots of newsworthy stories. Institutions, like SU, are now in a position where they must respond to the fact that mental health issue are a serious issue on campus. Students are more eager than ever to talk about mental wellness and break the stigma. Studies are being conducted all over regarding

    Read More

  • Depression In College Essay

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    Depression was once believed to affect mainly adults for various reasons. It was hardly ever seen in minors or college students. Today depression is more common in younger populations mainly college students. There are many things that can trigger depression in college students, such as the environment, anxiety, and the fear of failure. All these things can contribute to depression in college students and sometimes cannot be seen. Many college students will never seek help, and many wont ever admit that they struggle with it.

    Read More

  • Depression: The Transition From High School To Post-Secondary School

    465 Words  | 1 Pages

    The transition from high school to post-secondary school can be a harsh adjustment for many students and in many cases results in depression, which has been known to be one of the most common health problems for college students. The average depression dominance in general population of the United States varies between six and twelve percent; however that number increases by roughly nine percent when compared to the average of undergraduate university students, as discussed in the Journal of Psychiatric Research (p. 394). The purpose of this report is to describe what depression is, the common causes of depression, and coping with depression.

    Read More

  • Essay On Depression Culture

    704 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Transiting Into College

    1448 Words  | 3 Pages

    As students everything we achieved leads us to the path into college; everything the students worked for from k-12 pays off the moment they receive that acceptance letter. In today’s society succeeding in college is the key to live the ideal life. Truth is students will face obstacles in college, which can cause failure. One of the main factors is stress, 8/10 students in a college would frequently experiences daily (stress.org). Anxiety Depression Association of America’s Study showed 34 percent of students in a college would feel depressed, 13 percent are diagnosed with mental conditions such as depression, or anxiety, and 9 percent had considered suicide. When facing problems like this student choose to use painkiller, or other non-prescribed

    Read More

  • Depression In The Article: Responding To A Student's Depression?

    1709 Words  | 4 Pages

    High school students suffer from depression that is caused by stress. It affects their education to the point where they either do not care about school or maybe even want to drop out. Students often stay away from their friends or do not even make any at all. In the article “Responding to a Student 's Depression” by R. Marc A. Crundwell and Kim Killu it states that a student, “does not participate in activities and also is extremely shy.” High school students with depression had talked about hurting themselves or even taking their own life. Students in high school can get depressed because they have problems at home. Homework can also be a cause to a student 's depression. A 14 year old girl name Rita has been suffering from depression and

    Read More

  • College Students and Anti-Depressants

    2689 Words  | 6 Pages

    Starting college can be a stressful time for any adolescent. For students suffering from depression it can be a traumatic experience. Worlds feel turned upside down. Even for those who manage to “cope,” pressures can cause these students to feel overwhelmed.

    Read More

  • Depression: Symptoms, Types, and Treatments

    1957 Words  | 4 Pages

    Depression is an equal opportunity disorder, it can affect any group of people with any background, race, gender, or age. Depression is a sneak thief that slips quietly and gradually into people’s lives - robbing them of their time, and their focus. At first, depression may be undetectable, but in the long run a person could become so weighed down that their life may feel empty and meaningless. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone who commits suicide is depressed, but majority of people who commits suicide do so during a severe depressive episode. There are over 300 million people in the world today who suffer from depression. Depression has affected people for a long as records have been kept. It was first called out by the famous Greek philosopher Hippocrates over 2,400 years ago. Hippocrates called it “melancholia”. Many times we think of depression as one disorder alone, when in fact there are many different types of depression. The different types of depression are major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, atypical disorder, adjustment disorder, and depressive personality disorder. All types of depression share at least one common symptom. It is commons from the person who suffers from any form of depression to feel an unshakable sadness, anxious, or empty mood. Major depressive disorder also known as unipolar depression or recurrent depressive disorder is the most severe depressive disorder out of all of the depressive in my estimation. Major depressive disorder is a condition in which affects a person’s family, work or school life, sleeping, eating and general health. It is important to emphasize that we can understand the mechanics of this disorder and how it affects people with major depressive disorder.

    Read More

  • College Student Stress

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    Stress is a serious concern for college students, especially freshmen making the transition to a new lifestyle and school. It is important to remember that there are multiple ways to cope with stress that have shown to be effective, and every individual copes differently. It is never too late to seek help or to try a new strategy if the one chosen is not working. Three advice tips for freshmen making the transition to college are: attending or requesting mindfulness programs on campus, developing a strong support system especially with one’s parents if that is possible, and using resources that can be found on one’s campus.

    Read More

  • Depression in America's Teens

    2855 Words  | 6 Pages

    Teenage Depression. Everywhere you look these two words appear together as one, in newspapers and magazines, as well as in scholarly reports. Teenage depression is one of today's "hot topics" this among other teenage mental health problems, has been brought to the forefront of public consciousness in recent years after several incidents involving school shootings (CQ 595). The environment that teens grow up in today is less supportive and more demanding than it was twenty years ago. Not only are the numbers of depressed teens rising, but children are also being diagnosed at younger and younger ages. Studies have found that, "There is an estimated 1.5-3 million American children and adolescents who suffer from depression, a condition unrecognized in children until about 20 years ago" (CQR 595). This increase in depression is due to social factors that teenagers have to deal with everyday. A recent study found that, "About five percent of teenagers have major depression at any one time. Depression can be very impairing, not only for the affected teen, but also for his or her family-and too often, if not addressed, depression can lead to substance abuse or more tragic events" (NAMI.org). Gender roles and other societal factors including the pressures on girls to look and act a certain way, the pressures on boys to suppress their emotions and put on a tough front and the pressures on both sexes to do well in school and succeed, all contribute to depression in teens today. Depression is a growing problem which crosses gender lines and one that needs to be dealt with with more than just medication.

    Read More

  • Depression Among College Students

    2001 Words  | 5 Pages

    College students face strenuous workloads daily, causing them to feel more pressure about their schoolwork and academics and resulting in anxiousness. About 50% of college students today are suffering from depression, a larger number than most believe, but not all reveal that they have a depressive issue (Deroma, Leach, Leverett 325). Researchers suggest that academic stress plays a big role in a college student’s depression. Most people know that college is a lot harder than high school ...

    Read More

  • How to Cope with Stress from College

    853 Words  | 2 Pages

    Going to college can be an exciting new experience that can challenge a person more than he or she thought was possible. Attending college, especially for the first time, can be a very stressful time in a person’s life. Some of the stress that is associated with attending college are living in a new place, having to meet new people, having new responsibilities, and of course the homework that goes along with taking classes. If a person does not learn to cope with these stressors in a healthy way, that person may become very overwhelmed and possibly depressed (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2010) .To keep one’s body and mind safe from the overexposure of stress, they can practice the following techniques.

    Read More

  • Depression and anxiety among college students

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    Oswalt, Robert . 1995. "College Depression: causes, duration, and coping." Psychological Reports 77 (3): 858.

    Read More

  • Academic Stress Causes Teenage Depression

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    Academic stress is very common in student’s lives. Many students assume that making the academic experience their first priority now, will increase the chance of success in the future. School is an important aspect in most teenagers lives and by being so important a teenager can become depressed very effortlessly at school or because of school. Academic stress can take complete control over a student’s life, sometimes leading to depression. At school this may lead to poor attendance, a significant drop in grades or even annoyance with schoolwork, in a good student. There are many studies that have been performed to prove the correlation between responsibility in school and academic performance being the cause to academic stress. Just like there are numerous causes to academic there are also numerous cures, such as changing mind set and behavior. Academic stress is something majority of students in school can relate to and the cause of it can be something small as a bad grade on an evaluation, It will enforce the student to try harder in the future but it will for sure cause some sort of stress, even if it is for a moment. Stress from school can be one of the most essential causes of teen depression.

    Read More

  • Causes and Effect of Depression among Teenagers

    1190 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the National Institute of Mental Health, depression can be defined as a state of mental instability which affects the human body, mood, thought pattern, and relationship with others. Statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health shows that about eleven percent of teenagers have depressive disorder by age eighteen. (National Institute of Mental Health). Teenage depression is one of the issues confronting teenagers in today’s society. Depression can occur at every age in the human life, but it is more common in teenagers.

    Read More

More about Depression Among Incoming College Freshmen: Causes and Challenges

Open Document