Therapist Unlimited Blog

Battling College Depression by Jacob Malewitz 

College students are apt to depression, because they a great deal of pressures. They are still growing up. They see the world and want to take it. They experience failure. They fall to drugs, receive poor grades, try to work a job and a full class load, and often forget why they are doing it. So, in order to battle depression as a college student, you must be mindful of how tough it is. Then you need to see if you really have depression. First, you need to be honest about your depression. Often during depression you become an introvert: staying alone, reading, staying up late nights, not seeing anyone for days. If any of this sounds familiar, you are close to a depression side. Drug use is obvious, but doing things like becoming anti-social are less so. There is a fine line for you between enjoying yourself and losing yourself. To battle this you must try at least once a week to do something you normally wouldnít do. This could be a coffee at a nice spot downtown, a football party, or going out to see a movie with someone. To avoid isolation, which leads to depression in many, you must develop inner points of recognition. When you want to isolate, and are close to doing it, you need to seek help from someone, anyone who will listen. Professional help is almost always the best method. This makes being alone sound bad. Sometimes you have to fight through a depression by yourself. A college student can do much by themselves, some things more positive than others. If you love reading, a good book could cheer you up. If you like going for walks or jogging, it could have major effects on the lingering depression-decreasing it in many ways. The other side of this is to not fill yourself with alcohol. Just like marijuana and cocaine, there is a comedown off anything intoxicating you put in your body. Too much coffee will make you edgy; too much alcohol can kill you. It can also be a way of self-medicating. Alcohol in moderation is fine, but can be a dangerous alternative during a college studentís depression. Battling depression in college is not about the quick-fix. You must be mindful of who you truly are, what you really like doing, and how to make choices. Depression will still come. How you deal with it when it does come can make the difference between a degree and a therapistís bill. In the end, professional help is the best means for defeating college depression before it leads into some worse, like schizophrenia or drug addiction.