Recognizing Depression
Going to college is a new chapter in a student’s young life. They will face greater academic demands, financial responsibilities, exposure to new people, and being on their own in a new environment. Someone that already has difficulty dealing with the daily stresses of life may become overwhelmed with new challenges and become depressed. People who have problems with depression have both mental and physical symptoms (Frye, 1942). Some mental symptoms that a person may carry include guilt, low self-esteem, and feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy (NMHA, 2001). The physical symptoms include over eating as well as not eating enough food. Someone may also have problems with sleeping and may find it difficult
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More and more students begin binge drinking, smoking marijuana, and take many other types of drugs that can cause serious harm to the human body.
Mentality of a Depressed Individual
Thousands of college students who have serious problems with depression need to realize they have a problem in order to get better. Many students believe that they have failed themselves when they admit to having a problem with depression (O’Connor, 2001). People also look down upon those that have “special needs” or take medication for their problems, especially college students. Students are constantly judging themselves in order to live up to their standards as well as their peers, parents, and professors’ standards. Unfortunately, student’s standards of themselves can be much higher than others, in turn making it very hard to reach them.
Improper Treatment of Students
Once a student admits to failure, they must make arrangements to talk with someone. If they do not live near their home, they must talk with an advisor on their campus and taking that step can be very difficult. Many people look down upon talking with someone and students believe that if they cannot solve their own problems then they consider themselves a failure.
There are those that believe talking with an advisor on campus is the quickest way to recovery. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Colleges and universities across the country seem to steer
Mental health among college students has been proven to be a relevant social issue that our society faces. There are certainly a few different institutions that play a large role within the development of this social issue. The first institution, and the primary institution at play with this issue, is the higher education system. In terms of mental health and having access to resources, college students haven’t always been as lucky as they are today. One study in 2007 explains the story of Junior at Syracuse University (Kravets, 3081). Anita Rutman had a history of mental health issues; she even found herself being admitted to a mental health hospital. One morning in February, she threw herself off of the eighth floor of Boland Hall and landed on a patio and fortunately lived. However, her attempt stemmed from the university sending her letter three days prior that informed Anita that the school was planning to dismiss her because of her suicidal tendencies (Kravets, 3081). Anita later sued Syracuse for ten million dollars for malpractice and negligence in handling her condition.
College is a time of extreme stress due to societal and parental pressures. College students have expectations they have to live up to in order to fulfill and satisfy the needs of both their parents and society. Stress is expressed through a variety of symptoms that can be hazardous to student’s physical and mental health. With such high expectations to do well during college, students may become sleep deprived, which impairs mental capacity, but sleep deprivation is only one of a vast array of symptoms. Stress is present in all aspects of life and there are multiple causes of stress, especially, during the college period which may present itself through many symptoms, but with stress, there are also various coping methods to help students
To start off, college students today have to deal with depression. When a student has everything due within hours from each other, stress levels go up and feelings of despair settle in. Being an undergraduate myself I have experienced the feeling of low spirits. It like trying and trying to reach the top but you get knocked down every time there’s a new deadline to meet. Some people comfort by turning to drugs, drinking, or by doing self-harm. It can be solved in a healthier way by seeking help by a professional, there are campus counselors that can help and guide students on the right track.
I was sleeping a lot, my grades were failing, I rarely left my room and I found myself going to class in pajamas more often than not. By the end of the second semester, I was failing two classes and I was so emotionally distraught that I finally decided it was time to ask for help. Getting to the point where I was able to acknowledge my mental illness and reach out to a professional was huge for me. I have been struggling with depression since I was in high school, but I was too ashamed (and extremely stubborn) to admit that I had a problem and I needed help. My first thought was that I needed to go into counseling, but the wait for that is extremely long and I would be back at UNH by the time I was let in. At this point I was stressed out and felt like I had no other
Mental health is a serious topic that is often not taken seriously. Due to my own struggles with depression, I have experienced the impact mental illness can have on a student’s life. Mental illness can make everyday life feel unbearable and can have just as serious of an effect on a person as a physical illness. The causes of increasing mental health problems in college students are numerous, and it will take work from both students and universities to overcome this problem, but change is necessary for the health of U.S. college students.
Relate to Audience: A lot of college students suffers from depression daily. The stress from being in an unfamiliar environment, working and going to school at the same time can be a very heavy load to deal with. On
College represents a form of higher learning. For many, it is also a time for personal growth as we transition into adulthood. This in itself is a stressful situation as one must make drastic adjustments to a new role, environment, and demands. Stress is a major contributor to the development of mental and emotional issues (Rodgers, L., Tennison, L. 2009). Research has been done to determine the impact of depression and anxiety on university students. It has been
"College Mental Health Fact Sheet: Depression." Healthy Minds. Healthy Lives. American Psychiatric Association. 2 Apr. 2008 .
Before the main problems for college students were homesickness and relationships. Now the majority of students struggle with depression, anxiety, and self-harm.
Anxiety and Depression disorders are two of the most common mental disorders in the United States (Falsafi, 2016). It appears that the two disorders are widespread amongst college students and most cannot manage the high demands and stress (Falsafi, 2016). Therefore, they feel more prone to depression and anxiety (Falsafi, 2016). According to the authors Miller & Chung, mental health amongst college students in the United States is a growing public health concern and educators are concerned about the low academic performance of college students and how it influences their mental health (Miller, & Chung, 2009). Research indicates that university students suffer with low grades and poor academic performances, while trying to manage depression and anxiety (Falsafi, 2016). With the consistence of higher drop out rates, it is imperative that colleges and universities create programs that assist students with managing their depression and anxiety to help them through their education.
Most people might think college is a cause of unhappiness and depression but its the contrary. In
Today a college education can overload students with too many stressful situations. Not only does Stress overload today's college students, but it is also the leading cause of personality disorders. In her essay, Cathy Bell explains that major depressive disorder strikes 5-12% of men and 10-20% of women; half of these people will have more than one occurrence and 15% of them will commit suicide ("Depression for the young"). For instance, many depressives are first recognized and treated during their years in college. For a large amount of people, depression exposes itself because of traumatizing experiences, such as leaving home and/or academic stress. For other students alcohol and drugs become a
With more and more college students becoming depressed and anxious, researchers have been working hard to try and improve college student lifestyles. According to Therese Borchard, associate editor of World of Psychology, at least 44 percent of American college students reported feeling symptoms of depression this past year (Borchard).
There are a multitude of elements that influence the onset of depression and depressed feelings. The daily stressors of college life are one contributing factor to depression in college students. Some of the other stressors include: conflict between work and family, relationship problems, financial concerns, and poor grades, lack of social support or networks, a sense of not belonging, having fewer friends, and experiencing loneliness (Lindsey 2009). The economy has had an impact on every party of our society, including education. Heavy student loans are just another burden on these kids who do not know what their future career will hold for them (Curetalk). These different responsibilities are just other factors that influence the emotional health of college students.
Students’ state of mental and emotional health will contribute to the way that stress manifests and presents itself, once he or she enters college. “The emerging categories related to sleep and health problems could be a manifestation of a general increasing level of stress and psychopathology” (Murphy and Archer 26). There are a great number of studies, both past and on going, of stress and college students which have mainly focused on academics, personal relationships, finance and family status. A more in depth look has revealed that students with emotional disorders or those of poor health are even more ill equipped to