One in four college students have been so depressed that they have been unable to function, according to a national study. Shepherd University students follow the same trends, according to university counseling services.
“During the 2013 annual Depression/Anxiety Screening Day offered by Shepherd’s counseling services, of the 91 students screened, 32 screened positive for possible depression and 16 for bipolar disorder, which has a significant depressive component,” Shanan Spencer, director of counseling services at Shepherd, said.
In the 2013 – 2014 academic year, Shepherd counseling services saw 29 students with a primary complaint of depression.
“Depression was suspected in many other clients after meeting with them a few times,” Spencer said.
“I was around my family my entire life … being away from home and with people I just met was a huge change for me,” said a Shepherd University student speaking on the condition of anonymity. She asked to be referred to as Alex. “I don’t want people to look at me differently if they know.”
“Labeling them as crazy, cost, no transportation, or (they) do not know the resources are available,” Shannon Garland, registered nurse with the behavior health unit at Meritus Medical Center near Hagerstown, said are the most common causes patients gave for not seeking help or seeking help sooner.
“I would sit in my room and just look out the window. In my mind, I knew it was crazy to think I was alone with all these people around … heck, people would ask me to go eat and play games, but I always turned them down. I found some excuse,” Alex said.
Alex described many days that she would walk to class with an indescribable feeling that would be more intense certain days.
“I never knew from day to day how I was going to feel,” Alex said. “My mom was the first one that asked me if something was wrong. I stopped texting and calling home, and I had gained some weight.”
The diagnosis of depression, which is classified as a mood disorder, can be difficult to differentiate between other psychological disorders. Spencer describes the key elements of depression as depressed mood or irritable most of the day, decreased interest or pleasure in most activities, significant weight change or change in appetite, insomnia or hypersomnia, fatigue, guilt, worthlessness, the inability to concentrate, indecisiveness and suicidality.
“Diagnosing depression is a process. The person must experience a certain number of these symptoms for at least a two week period,” said Spencer.
Alex said that after a late night phone call with a family member, she decided to seek help. “I felt like I had come to the end of the rope; I just wanted to feel different and enjoy the things I used to,” she said. She was an avid photographer, yet for several months she did not take one photo. The camera sat in her bag, and she had to recharge the battery when she started taking photos again.
“After talking with a counselor and visiting my doctor at home, it was like a weight had been lifted,” Alex said. “Do not wait to talk to someone. I had a very supportive family and circle of friends at home. After I admitted to myself that I needed a little help, they were amazing.”
“Students are under a great deal of stress. When you add to that being away from home for the first time, relationship issues, financial struggles and experimenting with drugs and alcohol,” Spencer said.
These factors put students, like other groups of people, in a “prime position to experience depression,” Spencer said.
“One of our counselors is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week for emergency situations,” Spencer said.
Shepherd offers free, confidential counseling services to students of the university. Counselors will work with the students to understand their symptoms and causes of depression, and will then help them develop healthy coping skills. If medication is required, counseling services works with the health center and the nurse practitioner, according to Spencer.
“Don’t hesitate to contact us if needed. If students ever feel like they want to harm themselves, they should seek help right away,” Spencer said.
Students can contact counseling services by first contacting the health center at 304-876-5161. Counseling services is located in the ground floor of Gardiner Hall.
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