Handle College Without Depression

Student Resources

Help with the Demands of College Life


Get help for the top mental health issues facing university and college students:

1. Hope for the rising incidence of stress and depression
2. Tips for parents
3. Mental health problems increasing among college students

1. Hope for the rising incidence of stress and depression

Help for college students: Know the signs and how to get help for the top mental health issues facing university and college students

By Liza N. Eversole, MTN Wellness & Mental Health Consultant, August 15, 2006

According to a study three years ago by Kansas State University, the number of students seeing school counselors for depression doubled over a 13-year period and the number of students with suicidal thoughts tripled over that same span.

This is alarming, but there is hope. Help is here for the increasing numbers of students with anxiety, stress, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Campuses around the country are aware of the problem and many are creating ways to help manage these issues and even prevent students from developing mental health problems.

Read the following information to help manage these issues and learn how to get help when students can't manage the pressures of college life alone.

Some stress and anxiety is normal. Stress often increases as the number of responsibilities, choices, and decisions increase. Pressure to achieve good grades and fit into college life with ease contribute to the normal first year and back-to-school anxiety. Students who where successful in high school often find the competition too much. They are under even more pressure from high expectations to be the best and get higher paying jobs.

But, if stress continues to increase over time, the mental and physical results can be serious. Stress that persists day after day is a mental health problem. Experts agree that the physiological changes that result from stress contribute to nearly every major illness.

Be aware of the signs. The most commonly reported negative outcomes of stress include:

- Constant fatigue and/or insomnia: Are you just as tired when you wake up, as you were when you went to bed?

- Depression or anxiety: Are you feeling overwhelmed and anxious? Do you have angry outbursts?

- Physical Illness: Do you have a susceptibility to illness? Do you frequently have illnesses, high blood pressure, GI problems, headaches or back pain?

- Are you forgetful or disorganized?

- Are you noticing yourself using alcohol, drugs, or food more (or not eating)?

Please see your physician if you experience persistent physical symptoms!

The good news is that stress can be managed if students take the opportunity to assess the effects of stress on their overall wellbeing and to take the steps needed to improve their health and quality of life.

Keep yourself healthy: Take care of yourself physically and mentally. Your energy levels will be much higher if you are getting enough sleep, eating well, drinking enough water, and taking the time to do things you enjoy.
- Exercise regularly, but not excessively
- Get enough sleep (7-8 hours is average)
- Eat a balanced diet
- Slow down
- Stretch and breathe
- Learn relaxation techniques
- Remove yourself from stressors
- Get help from a counselor or therapist when the mental and emotional stress becomes too much to handle.

Signs and Symptoms of Depression

If you are experiencing any of the following, please seek help from an experienced counselor or therapist either at your Student Counseling Center, through your physician, or log onto MyTherapyNet.com.

Symptoms that Students and Parents Should Not Ignore:
- Abusing drugs, alcohol, prescription drugs or over-the-counter medications.
- Turning to food for comfort or not eating and/or excessively exercising (eating disorders)
- Problems with family or friends
- Feeling overwhelmed or anxious about school or personal issues
- Depression, which can have any of these symptoms/signs:

Feeling sad or empty, decreased energy, loss of interest in former activities, feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness, excessive crying, difficulty in concentrating or making decisions, weight gain or loss, over or under sleeping and thoughts of suicide.

According to The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) if five or more of these symptoms persist for more than two weeks, it is recommended that the person seek professional help. Go to the NIMH website for more information: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/

2. Tips for parents

Parents should know what is available on campuses to help their children. Many universities and colleges have counseling and intervention programs, some free and some covered by student health plans.

Symptoms that Students and Parents Should Not Ignore:

- Abusing drugs, alcohol, prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications

- Turning to food for comfort or not eating and/or excessively exercising (eating disorders)

- Unusual weight gain or loss

- Problems with family or friends

- Feeling overwhelmed or anxious about school or personal issues

- Difficulty in concentrating or making decisions

- Over or under sleeping

- Feeling sad or empty

- Excessive crying

- Decreased energy

- Loss of interest in former activities

- Feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness and thoughts of suicide.

According to a new study by the American Psychiatric Association, nearly one-third of adults who have a mental illness say they don't seek treatment because they fear what thers might think.

Students who are not comfortable talking find it easier to express themselves in writing. They often feel less inhibited and safer at the computer's keyboard, accept suggestions and move to solutions quicker than if they feel confronted by their therapist in person.

According to the article, Erasing stigma key to mental treatment, by former First Lady, Rosalyn Carter, "While mental illnesses can be as debilitating and life-threatening as many physical illnesses, research shows that fewer than half of the 54 million Americans who have a mental illness seek treatment. It is time to stop throwing up barriers to mental health care needed by so many Americans. No one suffering from a mental disorder should feel alone or ashamed."

By Liza N. Eversole, MTN Wellness & Mental Health Consultant, August 15, 2006

3. Mental health problems increasing among college students

Dr. Richard Kadison, chief of the mental health services at Harvard University Health Services believes colleges and universities should do anything they can to help the increasing numbers of students who arrive with pre-existing mental health problems or develop them while on campus.

ARTICLE SUMMARY: Mental Health Problems Increasing Among College Students
July 5, 2006, By KATHLEEN MEGAN, Courant Staff Writer

Every year at around this time, Dr. Kadisonef gets phone calls from concerned parents. Their children have been receiving treatment and medication for a mental disorder of some type, and they want to make sure that services are in place for their child in the fall at school.

"I am delighted to get the calls," said Kadison, author of "College of the Overwhelmed: The Campus Mental Health Crisis and What To Do About It." He believes colleges and universities should do anything they can to help the increasing numbers of students who arrive with pre-existing mental health problems or develop them while on campus.

Late adolescence and early adulthood have always been a time when mental illness is likely to flare up. "This is an age when there are developmental and hormonal changes going on with people," said Kadison. "It's a very common age of onset."

In the past, students with depression, severe anxiety or other mental illnesses often didn't make it to college or dropped out if those problems became too severe. Today, with better medications and treatment available, those students are staying on campus.

In a recent survey, about 90 percent of college counseling-center directors believe there has been an increase in the number of clients with severe psychological problems.

A study at Kansas State University looking at student mental health complaints on their campus from 1988 to 2001 found that the number of students who had serious depression had doubled, while the number contemplating suicide had tripled. Kadison said one in 10 students will seriously consider suicide, while 45 percent of students report having reached a point where they were so depressed they couldn't function.

FROM:http://www.courant.com/features/lifestyle/hcyoungadults.artjul05,0,587993.story?page=3&coll=hc-headlines-life

Students and parents can receive confidential help NOW! Experienced therapists at MyTherapyNet.com are available 24/7! Therapists are only a mouse click away.

Managing stress is the foundation for a wellness: A well-balanced and healthy life. So, in addition to receiving quality therapy at MyTherapyNet, please visit
www.MindBodySeries.com for information, tools and products to help you manage stress.

ATTENTION UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES: Don't let your students suffer in silence! Take care of your students and help them adjust to being away from home. E-mail leversole@mytherapynet.com to help your university or college set up an Online Therapy support program to ensure a healthy school environment.

http://www.mytherapynet.com/Public/ShowText.asp?EUID=&articleid=225&articletype=38