A Report on Depression in University Students and How to Overcome It

Abstract

Depression as a timely topic which is discussed by so many, but yet there are a huge amount of students; youngsters who are suffering from many stages of it.

So this attempt is to uplift, to be a backup strength, to the whole society especially the university students, who can easily be victims of depression. The key aim of the report is to emphasize that you are not alone and there are ways to overcome this common, but deadly mental illness.

Introduction

Depression, usually known as the common cold of mental disorders beacause of its abundancy. Over 300 million people in all around the world, suffer from depression. Unfortunately, university students easily become a victim of it, due to some reasons which are discussed in later.

Nearly, we had to face a loss of a best friend of ours, as he commited suicide. Eventhough he was not an undergraduate student, he suffered from stress and all the other reasons which lead to depression, as he attempted ALs for 3rd time too. He was killed by depression; So, we tended to further study about it. Hence, this report is to discuss basically illness, symtoms, types of depression, reasons for university students get depressed and depression overcoming strategies. What is depression? As mentioned earlier in introduction, it is the most common mental disorder. “Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. ” - The American Psychiatric Association (APA). Sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, low self-worth may be usual short-term feelings for anyone. But, if that kind of feelings is long lasting over weeks, then it may lead to depression. And the other matter is, depression does not only affect the mental health, but also the physical too. It can reduce a person’s desires to work and reduces physical abilities as well.

Approximately one in 15 adults (6. 7%) in any year, will be affected with depression. One in six people (16. 6%) will suffer from depression at onetime in their life. Eventhough this disorder can occur at any time, most of the time, it can be seen in the late teens to mid-20s. And the other matter is, women easily get affected by depression, rather than men.

Common Symptoms:

• Sad, guilty and hopeless feelings
• Low Self-Worth
• Loss of interest in activities enjoyed before
• Difficulties in memorize, concentrating or making decisions
• Weight loss or gain without dieting
• Lack sleeping or oversleeping
• Lack of energy and slowed body movements
• Loss of interests in sex
• Inability to cry
• Thoughts of death or suicide.

Types of Depression:

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

It is the most common type of depression which lasts longer than 2 weeks with depressed mood or loss of interest in activities enjoyed before. And also there may be at least 4 other symptoms discussed previously. It will reduce the ability to perform your life activities. Usually it is treated by combination of medication and psychotherapy.

Situational Depression

It is a short-term type of depression, which can arise after a shocking change in a person’s life. It may be a relationship breakup, divorce, loss of the job or retirement, loss of a close friend or relative etc.

As Situational depression is a temporary one, it will dissapear if you take the steps such as having a balanced meal, doing regular exercises, sleeping regularly, talking your situation with a close friend and engage in a leisure time activity etc.

Bipolar Disorder

“Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks”.

The National Institute of Mental Health – US

This disorder varies the mood, energy, and activity levels of a person into extremely higher level for one period and then it decreases to the lowest level to very sad, hopeless periods. And Clinical treatments should be done to overcome this.

Why University Students Get Depressed?

As mentioned earlier, university students can easily be victims of depression. There are numerous reasons for that.

Stress

Stress reduces the spirit and energy level of a person and leads to depression stages. University students get stressed easily since undergraduates they have to face a lot of exams, time bound assignments, lack of leisure time etc.

Sleep Difficulties

‘Lack of sleep’ is a reason that leads to depression as well as a symptom of disorder. However, undergraduates have sleepless nights because of studying overnight for exams, completing assignments and many more.

Poor Diet ; Lack of Exercise

Unbalanced, unhealthy eating habits also cause to depression. Most of the university students do not regularly have healthy meals and physical exercises as they are busy with studies and projects.

Drug Abuse

In university, you meet various kinds of people. Being in the company with people who having drugs, will lead you to them. Certain drugs such as alcohol ; Cocaine physiologically cause depression.

Relationship Break-Ups

In this age, university students fall in love inspired by the freedom of university environment. But, most of them are not long-lasting. Hence, facing loss of loved ones may cause for depression.

How to Overcome Depression?

Realizing that you are not alone

If you have depressive or anxiousness inner thoughts, the very first thing you have to do is to verify and clearly understand such kind of feelings are completely neutral and usual at the beginning. You are not the only one person, who have negative, backward, discouraged feelings. But, most of them keep silent and suffer for hours and hours; thinking ‘Everyone is coping fine at university except me’; 'They do well while I lose my strength to win the race of life”.

Talking to close friend you trust

There are lists of things you can do if you feel like you are bombarding by negative emotions day by day or if you feel like you are getting stressed because of this negative mind set which we said so natural at the first step. But the most comfortable, trustworthy and the most appropriate method to deal with stress at its first stages is to talk to close friend you trust. It will give a relief to your mind.

But if you do not feel comfortable with this step (It depends on situation and stress level) it is better to shift to another tip to get rid of these stressful thoughts.

Counselling

Most universities around the world, have counsellors who are well trained and skilled professionals to handle these kind of issues. Even though these services are popular among university students and school students in most of developed western countries, unfortunately it is not so popular and familiar with south Asian region. They are always there to listen and help. And they assure your privacy 100%.

Celebrating Every Success

Celebrating every little success, keeps you happier in always. And that is the ability most people are lacking of. There is no need of any human resources to get rid or overcome the stressful mind set by following this tip; which means it is free from supporters and a better opportunity to overcome it silently.

Have a Balanced, Healthy Life

Have an ability to convert little things to happy big moments; play your favorite game with your friends, having a good hobby, have a walk as an exercise, watch a movie, listen to your favorite classical music, sing songs, have a delicious meal you like and live a life you will remember.

Conclusion

There are various types of depression stages and also there are specific treatments to each stage. The key issue is, youngsters don't have a proper knwledage to identify symptoms of this disease. And most importantly ; by refering this report which includes good clarifications and which provides a huge coverage of this discussed area, any one can have a complete idea about how depression occurs, how it to be treated; how to recognize, how to overcome and many more without opting out any important sub topic regarding depression.