Everyone knows her: captain of a sports team, straight “A” student, campus personality. She never seems to have a bad day. She has a gift for making people around her laugh.
And despite all that she has going for her, she suffers from depression. She doesn’t fit the “depression” stereotype, so no one would ever know; she hides it well. She spends her time trying to cope with the feelings that are doing their best to consume her, while wasting her energy to put on a good mask to hide her real situation.
She is one of about 300,000 American college students who suffer from depressive symptoms, according to the online journal Psych Central. 75 percent of those students choose not to seek help. The 25 percent that do report their depression show a marked increase from years past. It is theorized that the decreased stigma about mental health concerns have affected the number of students comfortable with attaining medical attention.
“Depressive symptoms in college students may develop due to a combination of normal developmental changes that young adults go through, stressful life events and physiological factors,” Dr. Bruce Lynch, director of student wellness, said. “And the stressful situations students face may be more severe today compared with what college students experienced in the past.”
Some of the most common symptoms of depression are sudden, severe or gradually increasing changes in mood or behaviors. Some examples include sadness, moodiness, changes to eating habits, increased worries, self-harming thoughts and actions, decreased interaction with others or increased participation in “risky” behaviors.
“Each of these symptoms can occur to differing levels of severity, and it can be very helpful to seek support or counseling before they reach a higher or crisis level,” Lynch said.
Aside from the palpable effects of depression, those diagnosed are more likely to attempt suicide. College students are among the age group most likely to consider suicide and four of five individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 who contemplate suicide show one or more of the warning signs. As the number of students affected by this disorder increases, patterns become more apparent in the occurrences of depression. The end of October to the end of November is the peak period for college students to experience the symptoms of depression, due to increased stress, from exams, mid-semester grades, finals and choosing courses.
In past years, colleges have begun addressing these concerns by implementing more practical mental health facilities. Elizabethtown College offers several services through Student Wellness. Some of the services include counseling appointments, on-call counselors and a local health center. Bystander programs are also offered to aid those supporting friends with depression.
“Elizabethtown College is committed to helping students address health concerns such as depression in order to be personally and academically successful,” Lynch said. “For students who are experiencing personal concerns, or who are concerned for friends dealing with personal concerns, help is available through avenues such as Counseling Services (non-crisis as well as crisis services) and the rest of Student Wellness, Residence Life and staff members from other Student Life offices, and the Campus Wellness Network.”
