College challenges you in ways you never imagined. It challenges you to think outside the box while also thinking in a manner suitable to your professor. It challenges you to balance heavy class loads with an equally heavy load of work, emotions, indecision, or all of the above. But more than anything, college will challenge your perception of yourself.
This time in our lives feels both convenient and inconvenient. It’s most people’s first glimpse into the cruel and rewarding aspects of adulthood. Some have more or less tangible responsibility than others, but I believe every college student, hell, every person, has an innate duty to learn how to value themselves in spite of all the turbulence.
In a 2013 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “an estimated 15.7 million adults aged 18 or older in the U.S. had at least one major depressive episode in the past year.” This report defines a major depressive episode as “a period of two weeks or longer during which there is either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure, and at least four other symptoms that reflect a change in functioning, such as problems with sleep, eating, energy, concentration, and self-image.”
The American College Health Association, in 2011, found that “about 30 percent of college students reported feeling "so depressed that it was difficult to function" at some time in the past year.”
Why is it that people, overwhelmed and exhausted from internal torment, cannot bring themselves to ask for help or even a listening ear? Why do people choose to suffer in silence?
There is a stigma in our country surrounding mental illness. Such a stigma stems from a lack of understanding as well as a lack of open-mindedness and empathy. Depression, while it can be confused or intertwined with deep grief or sadness, does not have an accepting reception among the public. Shouldn't it raise concern that people are not seeking treatment out of fear of cost or judgment from others?
It is time we take a stand, fellow humans. I challenge you to be conscious and receptive of other students, family members, friends, and human beings. It is time we stop belittling the problems of others and extend genuine empathy to those around us. You’d be surprised by how far a little kindness can go.
What can Wayne State do to help?
If you, or someone you know, is suffering from depression, Wayne State has a plethora of outreach resources.
CAPS, Wayne State’s counseling and psychological services agency, offers free, confidential counseling for students as well as a crisis hotline. You can learn more about CAPS resources and other health resources on their website.
Students may call Wayne State Public Safety for assistance during a crisis.
Resident Advisors are an often overlooked resource at Wayne State. RAs go through intense training to be able to support you through times of indecision and crisis. They can lend that listening ear as well as reference you to further campus resources.
To those that are suffering, know that life is jam-packed with experiences: the good, the bad, and the in-between. However, none of these experiences truly define you. You are stronger than you think, and there are always places and people to turn to. Remember that social media is not a true reflection of a person’s entirety. Know that “treatment” doesn’t have to mean pills or therapy—your vitality can be on your terms. Challenge yourself to go outside once a day. Free write a paragraph about a topic of your choice. Read a book or watch a movie that you’ve been dying to finish. Just because you live with depression, doesn’t mean you have to stop living. You have discovered a place inside yourself where you feel deeply: where you can be grateful for the ups, and reflective of the downs. You can use this knowledge of yourself and of life to live purposefully or act spontaneously.
And finally, I encourage you to read (and I highly encourage you to watch) this advice from award-winning writer Andrew Solomon as he recounts his personal and learned experiences with depression during a 2013 TED Talk.
“Shutting out the depression strengthens it. While you hide from it, it grows. And the people who do better are the ones who are able to tolerate the fact that they have this condition. Those who can tolerate their depression are the ones who achieve resilience... Valuing one's depression does not prevent a relapse, but it may make the prospect of relapse and even relapse itself easier to tolerate. The question is not so much of finding great meaning and deciding your depression has been very meaningful. It's of seeking that meaning and thinking, when it comes again,"This will be hellish, but I will learn something from it"
