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Running Head: DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY 2

Depression and Anxiety

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Introduction

The term depression refers to a situation whereby an individual feels miserable, blue, sad or unhappy. Generally, depression and anxiety is a mental illness which is an epidemic among college students especially during examination time. It is sad to no note that, if depression and anxiety is not treated then it will last for a very long period of time, thus interfering with the day-to-day activities of college students. According to survey conducted by directors of college counseling centers in different colleges, the number college students experiencing depression and anxiety is increasing at an alarming rate. In order to solve this problem, we have to look at the background and statistic of the problem, look at what are the consequences of this issue. Then, we will be able to see what can we do to improve their solutions or even to find alternative solutions.

Depression and anxiety are prevalent problems in colleges across the country. Tartakovsky in his article says that, in the past 15 years Depression and Anxiety among College Students has doubled and suicide tripled. According to a recent study from trait anxiety in college students, almost 12 percent of all students attending colleges are seeking mental health help at their universities. The 12% is only for students who are seeking services for anxiety disorders in universities and colleges. There are more students who go to outside mental health for help and in addition to this, there are students who are facing depression and anxiety, but they don’t go to counseling center. We can infer that the actual percent for students who are facing depression and anxiety are way more than 12%. The average age of onset for many mental health problems is the typical college age from 18 to 24 years old, said Courtney Knowles, executive director of The JED Foundation, which is an organization that aims at reducing suicide and improve mental health for college students. In fact, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, 75 percent of all individuals with an anxiety disorder have experienced symptoms before age 22, as cited in the ADAA Report. Other students, who might not have clinical anxiety or depression, still suffer. According to the 2006 American College Health Association Survey, almost 48% of  women  and 40% of men felt so depressed that it was difficult for them to function. That is mean a huge number of students have experienced depression in certain time in their college life. Students in college usually deal with new things.  “Students experience many firsts, including new lifestyle, friends, roommates, exposure to new cultures and alternate ways of thinking,” said Hilary Silver, M.S.W., a licensed clinical social worker and mental health expert for Campus Calm. Most of students are usually struggle to deal with these firsts. “If students do not feel prepared to cope with the new environment of a college campus, they could easily become susceptible to depression and anxiety,” said Harrison Davis, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Counseling and Coordinator of the Community Counseling master’s program at North Georgia College & State University. Adjusting to college also influences identity as well. When new students enrolled to college, the familiar people they used to know are no longer there. This can make students disoriented and feel a loss of their sense of self. Generally survey conducted indicates that, the main problem or concern among college students is anxiety at 41.6% followed by depression at 36.4% and at the bottom is relationship problem at 35.8%. These statistics is a clear indication that the number of students suffering from severe psychological problems because of depression and anxiety is increasing each year.

Depression and anxiety can have really serious consequences. According to Kraepelin in his article “The dangers of depression”, these are the most dangerous results of anxiety and depression; suicide, addicted on drugs, self-injury, reckless behavior, poor school performance, relationship problems and health concern. Having thoughts of death and suicide are symptoms of depression. If depression is left untreated, these thoughts can get worse. Sometimes, people might think that suicide is the only way to avoid the problem and to escape from the pain. This isn’t true. Studies show that depressed students perform poorly in class because they are not in a position to concentrate in class. Most of these students become insomniac at nights and this affects their concentration level in class. The result of this is poor performance and some end up dropping out of class or out of school. In addition to this, depression has a negative effect on the ability of a student to remember what he/she being taught in college. Apart from academic performance, depression and anxiety among college students make them to lose in those daily activities which they enjoy doing in their daily life. Furthermore, a student suffering from depression and anxiety loses appetite and in some cases one may start eating a lot of food. There are many effective ways to reduce depression symptoms and get better. Remember, these terrible feelings and thoughts are only temporary feeling and it will pass. People usually turn to self-medicating with substances. The truth is that drugs and alcohol not only worsen symptoms, but they can also increase the chances that people get addicted to these substances. Combining drugs and alcohol with depression is a dangerous mix, which can increase the risk for suicide and further your depression. Another way for some people to cope with depression is by self-injuring or inflicting pain upon themselves with methods like cutting or burning. While some people don’t intend to deliberately harm themselves with these behaviors, serious or life-threatening injuries and accidental deaths can be the result. When people are feeling hopeless, angry or really bad about themselves, they are less likely to take care of themselves and think about the consequences of their actions. A shaky identity and lack of confidence can lead college students “to make poor choices about drinking and drugs,” said Silver. In fact, according to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) report, Wasting the Best and the Brightest: Substance Abuse at America’s Colleges and Universities, 45 percent of college students binge drink and nearly 21 percent abuse prescription or illegal drugs. Depressed individuals may put themselves in risky situations, with potentially dangerous consequences (driving drunk). Untreated depression ¬can make it very difficult to go to class and complete assignments. That’s because depression diminishes one’s ability to concentrate, remember things and make decisions. For some people, even getting out of bed requires extra effort. That’s why it’s important to get help before symptoms get worse and starts interfering with school and other aspects of one’s life. Consider how your relationships suffer when you’re stressed out: You might lash out at loved ones, stop going to social events or just want to be left alone. The same thing can happen with untreated depression. Depression leaves people drained emotionally, mentally and physically, so it becomes hard to be there for friends and family.

Depression is treatable. By getting help and following your treatment plan, you can prevent these complications. Depression symptoms rarely go away if untreated. In fact, they tend to get worse. For students struggling with  anxiety  and  depression , the best place to start is the on-campus counseling center, he said Tartakovsky in his article “Depression and Anxiety among College Students”. Thus, every school should take this problem as a serious problem. It’s not enough to only have counseling center on-campus, but the most important thing is to know how to get students to it. Students and teachers should be aware of this problem. I have been studying at San Francisco State University for more than 2 years and I still have not heard of counseling center and I don’t know where it located is. Every university should do awareness campaign. They should provide information of this problem to help students. Thus, students would know when they should go to the counseling center. Also, they would know where it’s located. Not only this also teachers should have a direct communication with the counseling center. Teachers are able to notice anything suspicions from students by their performances. In serious cases, antidepressants can be used for the treatment of depression and anxiety among college students. It is quite evident that, brain chemical called neurotransmitters play the role of regulating the mood of an individual. The two main neurotransmitters are serotonin and norepinephrine, thus antidepressants work on these chemicals and they reduce depression and anxiety among college students. It is a prudent idea for one to remember that, depression is treatable and so all of these dangerous consequences of untreated depression can be avoided if we follow the ways to develop these solutions.

Conclusion

It is quite evident that, one of the challenges faced by college students is depression and anxiety. Taking into consideration the fact that, over the past few year’s cases of depression and anxiety has been on the rise then there is need for stake holders to take the leading role of helping depressed students and they will rest assured of changing these students. Studies shows that, one of the effective sessions used by psychiatrists is psychotherapy and under this strategy, students are helped to bring out their problems such that they will understand themselves and find way out to overcome the depression and anxiety which they are suffering from. It is a prudent idea for us to understand the need for the development of an effective program that will help college students who are suffering from depression and anxiety.

References

Collner, A. T. (2014). “The 2006 American College Health Association Survey”.

http://www.jedfoundation.org/learn-more/about-mental-health

Knowles, C. (2009). “Promoting emotional help and preventing suicide”.

http://www.acha-ncha.org/data/PHYSMENTALF06.html

Krepelin, A. (2009). “The dangers of depression”.

http://www.ulifeline.org/articles/396-the-dangers-of-depression

Lindsey, C. (2011). “Trait anxiety in college students: the role of the approval seeking schema and separation individuation”. http://essential.metapress.com/content/907182031234xw67/

Tartakovsky, M. (2009). Depression and anxiety among college students.

http://psychcentral.com/lib/depression-and-anxiety-among-college-students/0001425

Wilson, S. A. (2004). “The impact of anxiety on performance” . http://www.academia.edu/201903/Anxiety_Attentional_Control_and_Performance_Impairment_in_Penalty_Kicks