Emotional health on college campuses

By Susan Landes Beck, Director of Counseling

Among college students, a combination of stress, hereditary factors, and/or situational factors can mix to form the perfect potting soil to grow anxiety and depressive illnesses. In a 2003 survey by the American College Health Association, more than 40 percent of students reported feeling “so depressed, it was difficult to function,” 30 percent said they were suffering from an anxiety disorder or depression. GC hosted its first Anxiety and Depression Awareness and Screening Day on October 6.

Depression and Anxiety Disorders are serious and treatable medical illnesses. In contrast to the normal emotions of sadness, low-mood, and anxiety related to stressful life experiences, clinical depression and anxiety are persistent and can interfere significantly with an individual’s ability to function.

As GC’s Director of Counseling, I see a growing 15% of the student body annually, with the largest presenting problems being anxiety and depression. Since the move from community to college counseling, I have become fascinated with the correlation between the stress of increased academic demands and illness. I’ve termed this the “college stress scale.” Specifically, this means that between weeks five and thirteen each semester, I see a spiked increase in not only referrals to my office but a marked increase in severity of student’s depressive and anxiety symptoms.

Symptoms of Major Depression include sad mood, loss of interest, motivation, or pleasure in activities that were once enjoyed, change in appetite or weight, difficulty sleeping or oversleeping, energy loss, feelings of worthlessness, difficulty thinking or concentrating, and possibly even recurrent thoughts of death or suicide. A key in diagnosis is when a student presents with many of these symptoms, a drop in classroom performance, as well as a significant decrease in overall functioning.

Also, students may experience what I call a ‘situational’ depression in which many symptoms mimic a clinical Major Depressive episode. A situational depression can occur after a relationship breakup, after a death or a significant loss, or during a stressful period, including exam times. A situational depression usually alleviates itself over time without need of professional therapy. This, however, does not mean it feels good to go through. A situational depression can feel extremely heavy and can affect relationships, class-work and grades.

It is critical for students to understand the ability of stress to cause illness. A report from the Mayo Clinic last week outlined how our body’s bio-chemical response to prolonged stress can disrupt any of our body’s processes, including digestion, heart disease, anxiety and depression, allergies, and immune system dysfunction. When we are going a 100 miles an hour for weeks on end, we may not be consciously aware that we are stressed, but through this bio-chemical process known as stress-response, our bodies are aware and can respond by becoming ill.

Persons need support during these times. Support occurs through the listening ears of supportive friends, family, and professors. I also can not “stress” enough that supporting oneself and preventing some of the negative effects of the stress-response happens by getting eight hours of sleep a night, eating healthy, and exercising. Even getting out for a brisk, five minute walk serves to re-establish a better equilibrium. Substance use also aggravates any depression or anxiety illness and shouldn’t even be an option considered by college students. Too often, good mental health begins with these basic foundations, including prayer and meditation, which we can easily neglect during hectic and stressful periods.

Like depression, anxiety disorders can be set into motion during the immense stress of college. Most people experience feelings of anxiety before an important event such as a big exam, a presentation, or first date. Anxiety disorders, however, are illnesses that fill people's lives with exaggerated worry and tension causing insomnia, irritability, panic attacks, muscle aches, and inability to concentrate or perform well in schoolwork.

When the situation that caused the depressed feelings or anxiety goes away and the student’s symptoms do not improve, but get worse, it is likely that a student has an illness that needs treatment. A student’s best step for success at this point is to visit the Counseling Office to be evaluated. Often, the combination of psychotherapy (counseling) to identify triggers and improve coping responses, and pharmacological treatment (medicine) is very effective to manage the illness and be successful in college. Some depressive and anxiety illnesses do not re-appear in one’s life. However, if there is family history of anxiety or depressive disorders, or addition of significant or prolonged stress, it is likely one will need to seek these various forms of treatment throughout one’s life to be most successfully healthy.

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Susan Landes Beck has a Master's in Social Work and has served GC for two and a half years as the Campus Counselor. She enjoys nature, athletics, music, good food, and hiking with her two pre-school daughters and husband.