The Traveler

Issue date: 10/20/06 Section: Life & Style

Media Credit: Stephen Ironside

About half of all college students reported feeling so depressed that they have trouble functioning, according to a 2004 survey by the American College Health Association.

Almost 15 percent of those students met the criteria for clinical depression.

"Depression affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things," according to the National Institute of Mental Health Web site. "A depressive disorder is not the same as a passing blue mood."

"Many people in today's society think depression is not a big problem," said Christine Snyder, junior psychology major.

"In all actuality, it's a serious medical condition that requires medical and psychological assistance in many cases," she said.

Three types of depressive disorders are major depression, dysthymia and bipolar disorder.

The severity, persistence and number of symptoms vary with each type of disorder, according to the NIMH Web site.

The causes of depression are different for different people, said Pam Matthews, a counselor at the Pat Walker Health Center.

Depression can be caused by both family history and some biological factors, Matthews said.

Often depression is related to a lack of purpose or direction in life, she said.

"I think people have this idea that depression is a bad thing," said graduate student Jason Engstrom.

"Sometimes it's okay to be depressed because it's your mind or body telling you something's wrong," he said.

Symptoms of depression can include persistent sadness or anxiousness, feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness, loss of interest in hobbies, fatigue, difficulty in concentrating, insomnia, loss of appetite, irritability and thoughts of suicide, according to the NIMH website.

These feelings could be signs of depression if tehy are persistent for more than two weeks, Matthews said.

Coming to college is a very stressful situation and students often experience life in extremes, she said.

This environment can cause a conflict of beliefs which can lead to some symptoms of depression, Matthews said.

When these feelings start interfering with your functioning, it is an important sign that you may need to seek help, she said.

Taking a depression-screening test is a quick and easy way to determine if a person is experiencing symptoms of clinical depression, according to www.depression-screening.org, a Web site sponsored by the National Mental Health Association.

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