The Gateway
Feature
volume ci number 40
Dealing with
Depression
The Gateway’s mental health series
Today • Battling depression
Thursday, March 24 • The bigger problems with addiction
Thursday, March 31 • Suicide and students
Written by Alix Kemp Illustrated by Anthony Goertz
A
ll students experience times of hardship and stress, periods where they feel tired, listless, or sad. For most, these feelings pass relatively quickly, the product of too much homework or a string of bad days. But for others, it’s a part of their everyday lives, a persistent state of gloom that can feel insurmountable.
Severe clinical depression can make even the most basic tasks seem nearly impossible. Those with depression may experience a broad range of symptoms, from a general sense of sadness, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, anxiety, to a loss of interest in activities they once loved, and even suicidal thoughts. Psychological symptoms are often accompanied by a host of other problems: headaches, insomnia, lack of sex drive, and weight loss. What’s becoming increasingly concerning, though, is the number of students who demonstrate depressive symptoms. A recent study from researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC), published in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, found that a large percentage of students who accessed campus health centres for a variety of ailments showed significant signs of
depression. Students on five university campuses in Canada and the United States were screened for symptoms of depression; one in four of respondents were potentially depressed. Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc, the Applied Public Health Chair in youth health at UBC was one of the study’s co-authors. “University students are often under a lot of stress, and depression is one of the most common mental health challenges of adolescents and young adults,” Saewyc said. “It’s far more common than the other kinds of mental health challenges that you hear about, but a lot of people don’t necessarily know that’s what they’re struggling with, [or that it’s] something they can get help for.” That’s one of the largest problems with depression
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