Being in college is a life-changing experience. There are so many things to get out of it and it is life-changing. These are probably the fastest and the craziest four years of your life. College is a time to really focus on yourself and see what you're capable of to grow your independence. College can be perceived as it being this glamorized thing and it being all games and fun, and breezing through education and graduating in four years like it's a piece of cake.
People don't realize that you go through a lot of stuff externally and internally, meaning environmentally and within yourself. There are several symptoms of depression to look out for. At the moment, a lot of people don't even realize their "depressed." They could perceive it as them just being in a regular mood and it will be done and over with. But if it isn't detected soon enough, it can get worse as the semester/year progresses.
Loneliness and isolation
I feel like this is the biggest feeling that a lot of people may feel on a regular basis. Outsiders may think, "how can you feel so alone in an area full of people? Or "Well, just join something, get involved or go walk around campus to take that feeling away." While these things may be true, it can be hard to do those things when you are trying to still figure out what you are trying to do with yourself and where you stand in the college that you're at. It can be hard because everyone is different. There are people who can make friends and find their establishment very quick and there is a lot of people who have a harder time doing that. You really can try hard and let it also run its course, but it does get tiring after a while. A person can only take so much, with additional things on their plate.
There can be a point in time in the semester where you will start to isolate yourself. You've put in all this work and you become mentally and physically exhausted. Everything at this point is getting on your nerves and you just want it all to calm down. A lot of people will isolate themselves because they just become so lost in everything that is happening around them at school. They may feel that their academics aren't going the way it was supposed to be going. You want to change your major because it's not what you thought it was going to be like. You may start to feel like your losing connection with your loved ones and friends. You're losing connection with them, they aren't losing connection with you. You can't seem to feel happy in your weekly activities in school.
The list goes on.
So, you start to reach a point in the semester where you're done, but you're not done. You become a robot. Throughout the week you start to feel like a robot. Your mind has completely isolated itself because it has been through enough of what you feel like. You do the same thing every single day and you've drifted apart from everything. Your there but your not there. You're in class and you may feel yourself so isolated you can't even listen or think straight to your professor's teachings because you're completely stuck in your own mind. You isolate yourself in your personal space, and you sit there isolated in those bad and overwhelming thoughts. That's when the anxiety strikes.
Anxiety
Ahhhhh...good ol' anxiety. Anxiety can happen at any moment and at any time of the day. It can lead to many different things. There are different types of anxiety that can go on in college. There is social anxiety, the studying/exam anxiety and even more. The social anxiety can come with feeling like you're not wanted or you don't fit in. This can cause a lot of deep emotion to strike up, and you may feel anxious or nervous when out in the public eye. The social anxiety can come from stress because your getting very stressed out about being content socially, and being able to be yourself around others without feeling limited or uptight. Social anxiety can strike when people around you go against you. You may feel stressed/anxious when you have to deal with backstabbers and the jealousy when dealing with a fake friendship.
The studying/exam anxiety is common with us college students. We may feel so lost when we are studying because our professors speed through lectures before we even have time to think/process what we just learned. We tend to start feeling anxious and start self-doubting ourselves. Anxiety can put a lot of strain on our education and interfere with our ability to finish our degree. It's the mind that makes us feel that way at the moment. We start thinking if we need to change our major? What questions do I ask for help? What can I come up with to ask since the lecture was so fast and there's a lot of information at one time? Breathe you guys...breathe...we can do this...
What others think
You don't need an official diagnosis for depression. Depression can come from anything. A person will feel it if they don't feel good. It's the same thing when you physically don't feel good. What do you do when you don't physically feel good? You go to your primary care doctor, or the ER if its something severe. People will be quick to jump up in a heartbeat if its something physical. But I feel outsiders may see people as "crazy" if they mentally don't feel good. The mind and brain are more powerful than you think. That is the control center. That is what makes us alive and feel the things that we feel mentally and physically. Outsiders may think others are being overdramatic when someone says their depressed or not feeling well mentally. They can say we are overthinking it, which we of course are, but reminding you of that doesn't help. It makes you start overthinking your overthinking.
Depression is real out here. There are tons of people who struggle with being mentally unstable on and off every single day. Being depressed is normal. But there does come a time if you can't take it anymore or it is getting too much to handle, GO-GET-HELP. There is nothing wrong with talking to a professional like a counselor, therapist, psychologist. THAT IS WHY THEY WERE INVENTED. Do not listen to what anyone says. You have to go do what is right for you. There are people out there, family is a very common one, who will tell you that you are OK and you're fine. People can be in denial about their own feelings. They tend to see that as a sign of weakness. Hello...we are human...everyone reacts and feels things differently. We would be robots if we didn't have feelings. Because of human nature, those feelings can get in the way. Listen to yourself. Take what you can get to make sure you are happy and healthy. It is YOUR MIND and YOUR BODY.
