A college student's strategies for coping with depression
Alysha Jones, '11 | Staff Reporter
Issue date: 2/26/10 Section: Lifestyle
College is a good time for some people, but for others it's full of upsetting nights, hard mornings, feelings of hopelessness and wondering if everything will get better. Depression afflicts many college students in America.
How does depression really affect its victims?
According to webmd.com, major depression is defined as having symptoms for two weeks or more. Some of the more common symptoms are: persistent sadness, feelings of guilt and hopelessness, loss of interest in usual activities, difficult concentrating, thoughts of suicide and fatigue.
Dan DeNovio, a criminal justice student, and Corey Cassano, a liberal arts student, said they never really feel depressed.
DeNovio said he never feels depressed because he tries to look at everything with a positive attitude. He says he also chooses to surround himself with people that make him laugh.
Cassano says he never feels depressed because he keeps himself busy so he doesn't have time to be depressed.
Daniel Eisenberg, assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and investigator of the study of depression tells Science Daily, "The correlation between depression and academic performance is mainly driven by loss of interests in activities."
James Estus is a former business administration student in his last semester at MSC. He suffers from depression and says that school is definitely a factor.
"Juggling school and work, it seems I never get a break," Estus says.
This is very true for an anonymous former student of Morrisville; who quit school due to depression. It started in high school, and without the proper help it worsened when she continued into college. She said waking up is a "challenge" because she said she has no motivation and is overwhelmed.
To this anonymous student, school wasn't hard but she sometimes couldn't stop crying in the morning. And she said sometimes she was so tired from crying she wanted to sleep longer, and as a result she wouldn't go to class. Doctors said she has a chemical imbalance, so without getting help, the depression just progressed as she got older.
How does depression really affect its victims?
According to webmd.com, major depression is defined as having symptoms for two weeks or more. Some of the more common symptoms are: persistent sadness, feelings of guilt and hopelessness, loss of interest in usual activities, difficult concentrating, thoughts of suicide and fatigue.
Dan DeNovio, a criminal justice student, and Corey Cassano, a liberal arts student, said they never really feel depressed.
DeNovio said he never feels depressed because he tries to look at everything with a positive attitude. He says he also chooses to surround himself with people that make him laugh.
Cassano says he never feels depressed because he keeps himself busy so he doesn't have time to be depressed.
Daniel Eisenberg, assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and investigator of the study of depression tells Science Daily, "The correlation between depression and academic performance is mainly driven by loss of interests in activities."
James Estus is a former business administration student in his last semester at MSC. He suffers from depression and says that school is definitely a factor.
"Juggling school and work, it seems I never get a break," Estus says.
This is very true for an anonymous former student of Morrisville; who quit school due to depression. It started in high school, and without the proper help it worsened when she continued into college. She said waking up is a "challenge" because she said she has no motivation and is overwhelmed.
To this anonymous student, school wasn't hard but she sometimes couldn't stop crying in the morning. And she said sometimes she was so tired from crying she wanted to sleep longer, and as a result she wouldn't go to class. Doctors said she has a chemical imbalance, so without getting help, the depression just progressed as she got older.