College is the place to have fun, make new friends, create memories, learn and move on to a chosen career. It is not meant to be a place of isolation, unfriendly strangers, saddening experiences and overall hopelessness.
Yet, most people don’t realize that college can very well become all of these things and more for students with depression.
Some fling the word “depression” around freely, using it when feeling a bit blue or sad. This temporary depression can be due to effects of stress, tragic events, relationships and other causes — these feelings of depression usually only last for a few days or weeks at most.
However, clinical depression is by far the most serious form of depression. It is long-term and cannot dissolve in a few days’ time.
Depression can be characterized by coinciding or separate symptoms, including sadness, irritability, sleep difficulties, frustration, lack of concentration and a loss of interest or pleasure in enjoyable things, according to Aaron Krasnow, the Associate Director of Counseling and Consultation at the ASU Tempe campus.
There are various types of clinical depression, with some of the types being: major, chronic, dysthymia, atypical, postpartum, bipolar, seasonal and psychotic.
The types of depression generally are classified by the severity of the symptoms and the duration. Major depression is the most severe, as it can last a lifetime.
However, other types of depression should not be taken lightly.
“Depression can be a very serious issue for many students. Some students who are depressed have thoughts of hurting themselves or killing themselves,” Krasnow says.
Depression can be caused by a variety of factors, including biological changes, social stressors and negative events, according to Krasnow.
Cattin Gaither, a communications senior and community assistant at Cholla Apartments on the Tempe Campus, says she has noted a variety of causes of depression throughout her experiences on and off campus.
Genetics, environment, missing family, feeling isolated and lonely, school stress and childhood experiences are some possible causes for depression, Gaither says.
Community Assistants are trained to deal somewhat with depression, including a day spent at the Counseling and Consultation center to inform new CAs how students can get help for depression and other problems, Gaither says.
Training helps CAs recognize signs of depression and where to send students for professional advice. There are also practices held for CAs in order to know what do in real-life scenarios, Gaither says.
“In one situation of training, a returning CA acted as a student dealing with depression, and as new CAs, we had to calm the student and refer them to C&C, where professionals can help,” Gaither says.
Diet and health can also be a factor in causing depression. An individual’s diet and health can be negatively affected by depression as well, Krasnow says.
Nutrients like vitamins, minerals, protein and carbohydrates are essential for a healthy diet. Without these essential nutrients, depression can form and people with depression can develop worse symptoms.
Depression itself can cause weight gain or loss, so paying attention to daily food intake is essential.
However, it is not always certain what the cause is, since there are so many factors to consider. Every individual is different, so causes and treatments will vary.
Also, depression may be a symptom of another condition, according to allaboutdepression.com.
Some possible conditions that may cause depression are epilepsy, diabetes, hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism.
Other disorders like anxiety, social anxiety, obsessive compulsive, and panic can also go together with depression, according to Web sites like healthyplace.com. This can be due to the inability of those with depression to handle stress well — causing more stress and anxiety, leading also to panic attacks in extreme cases.
Lindsay Bolin, a creative writing and fiction sophomore, realizes the severity of depression only too well.
“Depression, as I’ve experienced it, is not something that goes away,” Bolin says.
Bolin also says that depression is more than a fleeting feeling that many students may experience.
“Depression is more than just ‘feeling sad.’ In many ways, it’s a loss of hope…In many people, it manifests as a void — an apathy to drown out the stuff that hurts — and in others, it’s a heaviness or a physical pain,” Bolin says.
Bolin is not alone.
During the spring 2008 semester, random samples of students at all ASU campuses took the annual American College Health Association National College Health Survey, Karen Moses, the ASU Director of Wellness and Health Promotion, says.
The survey stated that 17.5 percent of ASU students had been diagnosed with depression, and 42 percent had “been so depressed it was difficult to function at least once during the past school year,” Moses says.
Bolin has experienced the ever-present and debilitating effects of depression.
“I’ve been depressed as far back as I can remember, because the feelings have always been there and gotten worse over time,” Bolin says.
She was diagnosed with clinical depression by a psychiatrist when she was 12 years old.
Bolin’s mother has depression as well, which helped to identify her disorder at a young age.
“[My mother] knew the symptoms from her own depression, which she was already on medication for. Even that young, I was isolating myself from my peers and the things I used to love to do,” Bolin says.
The fact that Bolin’s mother had depression made it more likely for her to suffer from it as well.
“I’m both genetically predisposed to have a chemical imbalance that makes it difficult to overcome the mood swings,” Bolin says.
Bolin saw a psychiatrist and therapist for several years, although visits were always inconsistent due to expenses.
Although Bolin has not been physically unable to do homework or other activities due to depression, she has problems with motivation.
“I don’t care enough to do [homework]. I don’t see it as important. It gets put on the backburner until I feel up to the task,” Bolin says.
When Bolin’s depression is triggered, sometimes there are worse effects than lack of motivation.
“I feel it frequently as a sort of ‘low hum’ that exists beneath the surface that gets louder when I’m reminded of the things that upset me. When that happens, the feeling gets worse, and I struggle to do even daily tasks,” Bolin says.
Bolin says that she thinks some causes of her depression, besides genetics and a chemical imbalance, are from emotional trauma, bullying from very early on in life to present, familial issues that affected her childhood and teen years, stress, social anxiety and weight issues.
“Stress can trigger it, and during/leading up to the school year episodes can be triggered more often, but it’s something that stays with me even when ‘nothing’s wrong’,” Bolin says.
Living on campus was an issue at the beginning of the year for Bolin and her parents.
“I have some social anxieties that I struggle with, but fortunately the dorms I live in are very quiet and full of very nice, mature students. My father was the one who insisted that I move into the dorms, to help me get a foot into ‘independence,’ ” Bolin says.
Depression and social anxiety can also play a factor in how Bolin feels around people, whether they seem to judge or just act unfriendly, and sometimes her insecurities are justified.
“It’s not just my depression, but a general social anxiety, and how I was trained to be hypersensitive to how other people see me, by years of feeling like an outsider. Besides, there’s no paranoia there; a lot of people really do judge me for my weight,” Bolin says.
Bolin says that depression is not something that should be kept to oneself — asking others for help is a necessity.
“If someone exhibits the symptoms of depression, they need help…The important step in getting support is being able to speak up about what hurts, and when it hurts,” Bolin says.
Bolin has tried many forms of treatment, including therapy, counseling, medication, self and family help and an inspirational book.
“I’ve tried medication (Zoloft and Prozac), neither of which worked. I’m about to try a new medication that’s designed to work differently than those two,” Bolin says.
“I also have had a lot of therapy in the form of friends and family who try to get past the Impostor Syndrome aspect of my depression to reassure me of my value. I got a lot out of the book “The Four Agreements,” ” Bolin says.
Impostor Syndrome is a cognitive distortion that prevents a person from internalizing any sense of accomplishment, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. The novel mentioned is “The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom,” a Toltec wisdom book by Don Miguel Ruiz.
In actual therapy sessions, Bolin says she talks about what triggers her depression and “various things that contribute to the self-deprecation I put myself through.”
“The counselor I meet with lets me vent, offers advice, and uses the ‘self’ model of steering myself back toward taking control over the things that upset/trigger me,” Bolin says.
Bolin reveals other strategies for dealing with depression.
“Something I say to myself frequently, whenever I have a severe episode with my depression, is ‘This, too, shall pass,’ ” Bolin says.
“Eventually, around that corner, something will make you smile and laugh again,” Bolin says. “If you can cope with the hard times, you’ll be able to better appreciate the happiness and love in your life.”
“It’s not easy, it’s not fast, and it’s not a cure; but the smallest grain of hope makes a world of difference,” Bolin says.
Amanda Barnes, an English junior, also deals with depression.
Barnes has a family history of mental illness. Five relatives either had schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or both, and serious mental illnesses in general. Her father has bipolar disorder and borderline schizophrenia.
As a child, Barnes had to deal with the erratic behavior of her father, and was afraid of having a mental illness herself.
“I always said that I would take my medicine if I ever did get diagnosed, because I didn’t want to hurt my family and friends by not taking care of myself,” Barnes says.
Eventually, Barnes’ father was put into a mental hospital when she was in fifth grade. Her family had to move from Phoenix to East Mesa to live with her grandmother.
She lived with six people in a cramped space, and her old friends and school were left behind as well.
“My whole life was flipped in a single night. That’s when I started getting depressed,” Barnes says.
Barnes’ new elementary school was large, the kids were unfriendly and wouldn’t help her become accustomed, and the teachers were cruel.
“One of the more popular girls in our class decided she didn’t like me, because she thought I was trying to take her friend away or something. Every day she told me that she hoped I would get hit by a truck on my way home from the bus stop so I would just go away,” Barnes said.
Barnes says she was always an honor student, but depression caused her grades to slip.
Her teachers were not sympathetic and singled her out in ways that humiliated her, including telling her that she was stupid.
Eventually, Barnes says she decided to be a writer.
“I thought that maybe my sadness was what made me able to write. After all, most famous writers are jacked up in some way or another,” Barnes says.
Barnes says she knew she needed help, but thought it would change her if she started taking medication.
However, after many negative events in her life before and during college, and an inspirational tattoo, Barnes says she decided to take medication.
The tattoo “is an open book on my hip area to remind me that my life is whatever I want to make it, and it really helped. Shortly after, I got on antidepressants,” Barnes says.
“Citalopram at 20 milligram didn’t change who I was, like I thought before. It also didn’t fix everything right away. The first month was hard. I was crying all the time…had really rapid mood swings, and my thoughts of suicide went up a little bit,” Barnes says.
“But, after that, I just felt better. It wads like all of the stress and worry I was carrying around with me eased up a little, and I could breathe again,” Barnes says.
“I’m glad that I was finally able to be responsible and take care of myself.”
Betsy Jacobson, an English literature junior, has another story of her experience with depression.
Jacobson says she had depression throughout high school, but she hid it from her friends and family.
When Jacobson first came to ASU, she says she was alone most of the time since her best friend was at NAU and her other friends weren’t around.
Jacobson’s freshman living situation didn’t help matters.
“My roommate and suitemates hated me and basically pretended as if I didn’t exist,” Jacobson says.
Although Jacobson lived with two best friends last school year, she says she didn’t feel better.
“I was crying every night and had begun scratching my arms with pen caps to relieve stress and emotion…It felt like I had a sort of black hole in the center of my chest that just sucked all the joy out of my life,” Jacobson says.
After fighting with her roommates, becoming antisocial, and “resenting everyone for their happiness,” Jacobson says that a friend took action.
“My friend noticed the deep scratches on my arms and emailed my mom about it,” Jacobson says.
After talking with her mom, Jacobson says she realized she needed help. However, her insurance didn’t cover behavioral health.
Instead of going to a counselor or psychiatrist, Jacobson went to her family doctor. She ended up taking 20 milligram of Citalopram and has taken it ever since.
“I’ve felt so much better with the meds. I feel normal. I still get sad sometimes, but it’s a regular sad. My emotions no longer affect me so much that I can’t function properly, as they used to before I was diagnosed,” Jacobson says.
Fortunately, there are resources on campus to help students with depression.
Students can make an appointment at any of the four campus Counseling and Consultation Centers, Krasnow says.
“Each counseling center offers many services to help students who are feeling depressed, anxious, or are otherwise having difficulty at school or in their family or social life. These services may include counseling, group therapy, workshops, and some limited psychiatric services,” Krasnow says.
Other resources that students have on campus include hotline services and community assistants at the various residence halls.
ASU also has a Campus Care Depression and Suicide Prevention Program, which is a partnership between ASU’s Wellness and Health Promotion and Counseling & Consultation.
The program started three years ago, and there are five volunteers that work with the program coordinator on the grant project, Moses says.
An upcoming bulletin board campaign project is titled “Feeling Blue,” with the goal of providing awareness and prevention for depression and suicide.
“Campus Care provides awareness and skill building, training, social marketing, peer education and educational groups,” Moses says.
Campus Care also promotes “other opportunities to help students and parents, faculty and staff, university-wide, develop a greater awareness and ability to support students’ mental health, and to identify and respond appropriately to warning signs of distress, depression and suicide risk,” Moses says.
Other possible treatments and options are to seek help and support from family and friends, make an appointment to see a psychiatrist and take any recommended medication, read self-help books and maintain a healthy diet and exercise routine.
Some treatments don’t work right away, since pills generally require around three weeks to take affect. Pills are generally used for depression caused by biological factors.
Also, medication reacts differently for each individual, and some types of counseling may not always be effective for every person. Patience is a must in all cases.
There are various types of medication for depression, also known as antidepressants. Four main types include tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).
Some common types of antidepressant medications are: Prozac, Zoloft, Effexor, Wellbutrin, Celexa and Lexapro.
ASU students can help those with depression by paying attention to friends, acquaintances and family members. They may even save a life.
“I can say that someone saved me by literally just being there once. If not for this family member, who expressed her love for me at a time I most needed to hear it, I would not be here now,” Bolin says. “Just offering support and love makes a big difference.”
Reach the reporter at reweaver@asu.edu.
