Health Center
This National Depression Screening Day, more college students are struggling with depression than ever.
The results of a new study show that 60.5 percent of college students reported feeling “very sad” in the past year, according to the American College Health Association. And 30.3 percent of students reported feeling “so depressed that it was hard to function.”
“It makes a lot of sense,” said Nicole Silverberg, University Health Center care manager. “School’s really hard — there’s a lot of pressure to do well and the adjustment from high school to college can be overwhelming.”
According to Silverberg, 9,731 university students experienced depression last year. Of those students, 7,770 went without minimally adequate mental health care.
“We are always really busy,” Silverberg said. “There’s a three week waiting period [for the Mental Health Center] and with the counseling center, same thing.”
However, there are numerous on-campus resources for students to draw on. According to Silverberg, these include meditation, massage, acupuncture, the Counseling Center and a psychiatric clinic.
“When you have depression, being a student becomes second priority because you want to help yourself first,” said Sara Hernandez, a sophomore Romance languages major with depression. “The fact that you can get help in that regard from your school is great.”
Hernandez has struggled with depression for several years. While she remembers it being manageable in high school, the disorder hit her especially hard her first semester at this university.
“I was hospitalized because I had suicidal thoughts and couldn’t take it anymore,” Hernandez said. “I was at the mental health center when I had an emotional breakdown, and a psychiatrist called an ambulance.”
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, most of those with depression experience its first symptoms during college, between the ages of 18 and 24. Newfound independence combined with schoolwork, extracurriculars, jobs and a social life can mix to make students especially prone to symptoms.
“I think the workload and academic stress on top of social anxiety makes the chances of depression in students definitely higher,” Sami Holder, a junior psychology major and employee at the Help Center, a peer counseling and crisis intervention hotline, said. “We get six or seven calls a week about depression — maybe more.”
According to Holder, the hotline, which is student-run, experiences a spike in calls during finals and other high-strung times of year. While most calls are related to academics or social issues, Holder says they’ve recently received many related to confusion over sexual identity.
“At this point in our lives, we’re so confused about who we are,” Hernandez said. “With depression, it’s overwhelming to think about the next day, let alone about the rest of your life.”
If students believe they may be experiencing depression, both Silverberg and Hernandez stressed the importance of undergoing screening as soon as possible. The sooner it’s diagnosed, the sooner treatment can begin and the student can start feeling better.
“Depression is something students find really hard to admit or talk about, so the fact that screenings are promoted and the university is reaching out and letting people know it’s okay to talk about it is great,” Hernandez said. “The fact that so many students are experiencing it and aren’t willing to admit it is very sad.”
Depression is defined as sadness experienced for more than four weeks that interferes with the ability to function. It can be caused by environmental and biological factors, and those who experience it are more likely to abuse alcohol, smoke cigarettes and commit suicide — the second leading cause of death in college-aged students, according to the American Psychological Association.
“If it’s hard for you to do simple things, then you need help,” Hernandez said. “You should allow yourself to live a long and happy life — despite everything looking bleak now — and the only way to get there is to take baby steps.”
Free depression screenings will be offered in Room 1150 of the health center between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. today. The assessments are anonymous and mental health professionals will be available to speak with about counseling resources on campus.
The Help Center hotline can be reached at 301-314-4357.
Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this article identified the sophomore Romance languages major as Fara Hernandez. Her name is Sara.
