College Students and Anti-Depressants :: Depression Psychology Drugs Essays

College Students and Anti-Depressants Starting college can be a stressful time for any adolescent. For students suffering from depression it can be a traumatic experience. Worlds feel turned upside down. Even for those who manage to â€Å"cope,† pressures can cause these students to feel overwhelmed. Upon meeting Katelyn*, no one would ever suspect this tiny, thin blonde with a bubbly personality to be shy, much less depressed. Katelyn is a 19-year-old Northeastern University sophomore, who has been suffering from depression for about three years. â€Å"Sometimes everything seems like a big blur,† said Katelyn. â€Å"I have so much to do, so much to think about, and suddenly none of it seems important. It’s like the more I have to do and get done, the less motivated I feel.† As Katelyn talks, she transforms from an average college student to one with a serious illness, a condition that almost 24% of college students had been diagnosed with in 2003, at one time in their life. â€Å"Being depressed is not something that everyone can easily understand. There’s such a stigma that comes along with the term. So many people just see it as some fake, made-up condition that I should just be able to snap out of. What they don’t understand is that it’s not something that I can just will away,† said Katelyn. Katelyn’s story isn’t so different from other depressed college students nationwide. In college, young adults meet new peers and enter environments much different than high school. For many students, it will be the first time living on their own, away from the comforts of home. For the average student, this situation is extremely stressful and uncomfortable. For students who suffer from depression, these feelings are multiplied. According to an article by Josephine Marcotty in Minneapolis’ Star Tribune from April 10, college students lead â€Å"hyper-enriched lives,† said Greg Kneser, dean of students at St. Olaf College. That’s what makes this generation of students distinct from its predecessors, he said. That is why more students who cannot cope with these feelings end up at college counseling centers with â€Å"increasingly serious mental-health problems.† 15 to 20 percent of college students nationally were diagnosed with depression. The second most common diagnosis was severe anxiety. According to the article, it is not unusual for mental-health issues to become apparent during a student’s college years. According to Roseanne Gotterbarn, a psychologist from New York, college students who are depressed should seek professional help and, if necessary, help from medication as well. College Students and Anti-Depressants :: Depression Psychology Drugs Essays College Students and Anti-Depressants Starting college can be a stressful time for any adolescent. For students suffering from depression it can be a traumatic experience. Worlds feel turned upside down. Even for those who manage to â€Å"cope,† pressures can cause these students to feel overwhelmed. Upon meeting Katelyn*, no one would ever suspect this tiny, thin blonde with a bubbly personality to be shy, much less depressed. Katelyn is a 19-year-old Northeastern University sophomore, who has been suffering from depression for about three years. â€Å"Sometimes everything seems like a big blur,† said Katelyn. â€Å"I have so much to do, so much to think about, and suddenly none of it seems important. It’s like the more I have to do and get done, the less motivated I feel.† As Katelyn talks, she transforms from an average college student to one with a serious illness, a condition that almost 24% of college students had been diagnosed with in 2003, at one time in their life. â€Å"Being depressed is not something that everyone can easily understand. There’s such a stigma that comes along with the term. So many people just see it as some fake, made-up condition that I should just be able to snap out of. What they don’t understand is that it’s not something that I can just will away,† said Katelyn. Katelyn’s story isn’t so different from other depressed college students nationwide. In college, young adults meet new peers and enter environments much different than high school. For many students, it will be the first time living on their own, away from the comforts of home. For the average student, this situation is extremely stressful and uncomfortable. For students who suffer from depression, these feelings are multiplied. According to an article by Josephine Marcotty in Minneapolis’ Star Tribune from April 10, college students lead â€Å"hyper-enriched lives,† said Greg Kneser, dean of students at St. Olaf College. That’s what makes this generation of students distinct from its predecessors, he said. That is why more students who cannot cope with these feelings end up at college counseling centers with â€Å"increasingly serious mental-health problems.† 15 to 20 percent of college students nationally were diagnosed with depression. The second most common diagnosis was severe anxiety. According to the article, it is not unusual for mental-health issues to become apparent during a student’s college years. According to Roseanne Gotterbarn, a psychologist from New York, college students who are depressed should seek professional help and, if necessary, help from medication as well.