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Depressive disorder in college students essay
Depression and anxiety in college students
Depressive disorder in college students essay
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Depression Among College Students A young anonymous college freshman tells a story of the depression she faced throughout her first semester of college, through the transition and her roommate issues. Not only did it occur during her first semester, but through her second as well. Unfortunately, the depression overtook her life to the point of her desire to commit suicide. Luckily, she changed her mind in the last second and saved herself (Reachout.com). This young student is not just one of few depressed college students, but she is one of many. Colleges must take more responsibility of mental health issues, like depression, by researching the causes and effects while discovering beneficial treatments that promote the students’ overall well being. Depression is defined as a common but serious mental illness typically marked by sad or anxious feelings. Most college students occasionally feel these emotions, but they usually pass quickly within a couple of days. It is untreated depression that it interferes with daily activities, and is much more than just being “a little down” or “feeling blue.” The causes can include many things, a couple of which academic stress and self-esteem. These have been shown to have a great impact on the students. 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 ... ... middle of paper ... ...at allows for comfort and disclosure. If a student is struggling with depression, educated RAs can play a big role in that particular student’s life. 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.
Glenn says that “A 1999 UCLA survey of 683 colleges and universities showed that 30.2 percent of freshmen acknowledged that they frequently felt overwhelmed.”(Atschuler, 2000) This increase is what he says has led to the need for more psychological services and counseling. The fact that many college students travel far from home to study is also a large factor in the increased amount of stress. Glenn points out Dr. David Fasslers conclusion in his book “Help Me I’m Sad”, “Many live far away from their
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.
High risk students showed greater support, quicker processing, and enhanced recall of negative depression-relevant adjectives involving incompetence, worthlessness, and low motivation (Alloy, Abramson, Francis, 1999). For these issues, the counseling center should have a support group for students. Often when a person is depressed, it feels more comfortable to retreat into one’s shell, but being around other people will make a person feel less depressed. To prevent depression, being with peers dealing with the same situations in college can go a very long way in reducing a sense of isolation and worthlessness. Support groups can also give confidence to one another, give and receive guidance on how to cope, and share college experiences.
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
Depression is one of the many problems that International Students face. It's a problem that affects their day to activities and if left unattended can cause a lot of harm. It is called the 'common cold' of mental illness (Mental Health Info &Links, 2001). Depression was compared with 100 other diseases and it was ranked fourth in the global burden by the World Health Organisation (WHO). There is a fear that it might rise to second it diagnosis, treatment or prevention is not improved. Depression causes suffering and anguish for individuals, families, friends and communities. Families and employers expand both personal and economic resources to deal with the person’s depression and depressive symptoms. A major concern it that early depression signals a future recurrent or chronic depression that becomes increasingly debilitating (Greden, 2001). This paper is going to focus on the impact that depression has on International students and the triggers and causes of Depression.
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.
...rning adult student these resources that I have incorporated into my routine will help me to get my degree and enjoy the process along the way. It is worth taking the time to know where my priorities are.
People constantly overlook the severity of depression, more importantly, major teen depression, which presents a legitimate obstacle in society. The intensity of teen depression results from society’s general lack of acknowledgement of the rising affair. In 2012, “28.5% of teens were depressed” and 15.8% of teens contemplated the option of suicide (Vidourek 1 par. 1), due to their major depression going unnoticed or untreated for. Even teenagers themselves often ignore their depression or remain in denial because neither them nor anyone else recognizes the signs. “A sudden change in behavior is a main sign of someone being depressed, which could lead to having suicidal thoughts,” stated Pam Farkas, a clinical social worker in California (Aguilar 1 par. 8). The warning signs and risk factors of teen depression include behavioral issues, social withdrawal, and inadequate interest in activities (Adolescents and Clinical Depression 2 par. 3), yet the unawareness of these signs does not allow professional medical attention to intercede. Deaths, illnesses, rejection, relationship issues, and disappointment present passages down the negative path of teen depression, but treatments, such as psychotherapy, intervention programs, and antidepressants express ways to subdue this major problem. Knowledge of the increasing dilemma needs to circulate, in order to promote stable teen lives in the present and future world. Understanding major teen depression, the events and incidents that lead to depression, and how to overcome the problem will lead to a decrease in major teen depression and its growing issue in society.
National Health Ministries (2006). Stress & The College Student. The University of Illinois at Chicago. http://www.uic.edu/depts/wellctr/docs/Stress%20and%20the%20College%20Student.pdf
Many students on a college campus experience stress, depression, or being overwhelmed and rarely seek mental health services on campus. A study was done at a large, highly competitive, public research university, to see how many students experience any of these things and to see how many actually use their available resources (Laven, A.). Studies found that most of these students who experienced these emotional situations tended to have lower grade point averages; however, they indicated that their problems were not serious enough, they had never used the available resources on campus, and they generally knew very little about the resources on campus (Laven, A.). Although many of the freshmen indicated that they would rather turn to friends or family for advice, if the problem is persistent and affects one’s daily life, campus resources should be used.
It is alarming that the incidence of this disease is increasing among the students. According to Hales (2016), approximately 15 to 40 percent of college students may develop depression, a higher percentage being among women (p. 36). Generally, the causes of depression in young people are related to their school work, such as stress, especially on undergraduates students because they have to cope with new beginnings. Another risk factor is too little sleep. Most of them are spending a lot of time, especially night time, on the computers for school work or just for fun. Also, the academic pressure can lead to depression, especially on that students with poor academic performance. A family history depression can be another risk factor in students. There are several forms of depression therefore the treatment is different. Also, the disease should be treated differently in man than in woman, because the mode of manifestation of the disease is different for the woman than for the man. Unlike somatic diseases, depression, like many other mental illness benefit from both medication and psychotherapy. The disadvantage of drugs (antidepressants) is that in some cases, in the first few days after the start of treatment, there is an increase in suicidal thoughts or behavior. These patients must be closely monitored. On the other hand, psychotherapy ( brain stimulation therapy, counseling, interpersonal therapy), doesn’t hurt the patient. As with somatic diseases, besides these types of treatments, a special role in fighting this disease is to try to be as active as you can be, doing physical activities, being involved in group activities, set realistic goals for yourself, accept all help that you have
Studies have shown that many college students are not able to handle the stress while in school, which hinders the ability for the brain to act in a normal way (Shahrokh and Hales, 2003). If a person is unable to deal with the stress that one is being faced with, it will have negative consequences in terms of causing several psychological disorders (Canby et al., 2014). Entering post-secondary education is a completely new environment for students, as it can be tough for many to adjust to the new surroundings. There are many factors that cause stress when students enter college, as it can include having the ability to deal with lower marks (Struthers et al., 2000) and having to create a new social life. Once and if a social life is established, it can cause more stress among students because it can lead into peer pressure that results in risky behavior. In particular, peer pressure can cause alcoholism or drug abuse (Seiffge-Krenke, 1990) or it can also cause unprotected sex. Not only does stress revolve around peer-pressure, but it can also be caused by headaches and lack of energy. If a student is constantly staying up late to finish assignments or to study, it can cause headaches from the lack of sleep; thus causing stress. With all the given factors, it can be hard to overcome these external factors which can ultimately lead to stress among
Tartakovsky, Margarita, M.S. "Depression and Anxiety Among College Students | Psych Central." PsychCentral.com. N.p., 2008. Web. 01 Dec. 2013. .
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.
In the past 35 years the suicide rate for college campuses has tripled (Oswalt 1995). This shows that there is a clear need for something to be addressed within the college community. The recent surveys show that about 10-15% of college students are depressed (Lindsey 2009). Depression can be a debilitating illness especially when many students attend college away from their close friends and family. This could result in students with more suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide. In fact, the number of students with suicidal thoughts has tripled over the past 13 years as the number of students seeking help for depression doubled in the same span (Lindsey 2009). Depression can effect these teens in other areas of their life as well. The students who reported that they were depressed also reported that they considered their health fair or poor (Lindsey 2009). In their cases, depression not only effects them psychologically but also physically. Depression is also known to impair psychosocial development and academic success (Lindsey 2009). With all of these factors put togethe...