Depression is an illness that we hear a lot about. Approximately 20% of Canadian university students suffer from a mental illness, and of those, depression is one of the most common. With the high-stress environment of universities, studies have shown that students can fall into depression by a variety of triggers, from a bad grade to a bad breakup.
However, despite the moderate amount of attention that depression gets, many students may not be sure what to do about it. What do you do if you think you, or a friend, has depression? What can you do to end the stigma of mental illness? This article will give you some tips on what to do if you run into a situation where you encounter depression in yourself or in others. But first, let’s gain some general knowledge about depression, and what it actually is.
Depression is a serious medical illness, much like a broken arm or the flu. In fact, depression has been called the “common cold” of mental illness because of its high onset. Depression is not just “a case of the blues”. Yes, everyone gets sad from time to time, and we all have our highs and lows. However, an individual with depression has persistently low moods for over two weeks, has difficulty not just with meeting commitments and deadlines but also has difficulty enjoying hobbies or other activities, and has increased feelings of irritability, anger, hopelessness, or suicide. Depression may also present itself in other symptoms, such as persistent physical pain, inability to sleep, fatigue, anxiety, or a change in appetite accompanied with weight gain or loss.
Depression is cyclic, which means that if left untreated, it may cure itself, but it is much more likely to come back at a later time. However, with proper medical treatment, a person is much less likely to suffer from depression a second time.
Depression is treatable and preventable, approximately 80% percent of the time. Depression is often triggered by stressful situations, and many people may also have genetics or brain chemistry that makes them “more prone” to depression, similar to how many people are “more prone” to diabetes. Treatment of depression includes serious lifestyle changes, stress management, therapy from counselling, and medication.
If you think you’re suffering from depression, the most important thing to do is to seek help. You can get diagnosed by your family doctor, or by one of the doctors at Health Services. If you don’t want an immediate diagnosis, you can also seek advice from one of the counsellors at counselling services. Depression is not something to be ashamed of, but as mentioned, completely treatable and preventable. Furthermore, if you believe that your low moods are interfering with your school or work life, getting a proper diagnosis will also open up doors to services such as AccessAbility, which can petition professors, or CECA, on your behalf.
If you think a friend is suffering from depression, the best form of support you can offer is referring them to a mental health professional. For instance, try referring them to a counsellor. A counsellor would be able to help your friend sort out his or her priorities and stresses in life, and counsellors can also refer their clients for mental illness diagnoses by physicians.
If you find other groups of people who belittle depression or don’t take it seriously, speak out to stop the stigma. A mental illness is as serious as a physical illness, and having a mental illness such as depression does not put the patient at fault. There are also plenty of resources online that you can direct towards those who do not understand mental illness, such as the Canadian Mental Health Association (cmha.ca) or mooddisorders.ca.
Mental illness is extremely difficult to deal with, because it may not present as many obvious signs as a physical illness. However, that doesn’t mean that the warning signs should be ignored. Hopefully, this article has given you some tips on what to do if you or a loved one is suffering from some of the warning signs of depression. Be sure to check back next issue to find out how to deal with one of the most difficult mental health issues to deal with: suicide.
Student
Just wanted to thank you for this article. I have been quite unaware of the health services for those in need, here at UW. Particularly, I was hesitant of counseling services as the information I found regarding it didn’t seem to hint at exactly what I wanted. I was completely unaware that Health Services could help with mental health issues, specifically, that with psychodiagnosis. Where you differentiated between the two in regards to one’s desire for diagnosis, made me check the Health Services site and book my first appointment. So, thank you for the incredibly useful, and organized, information. Cheers.