Dealing with depression

By: Cindy Ibarra, Columnist

The idea of college sounds fun and exciting because of all the freedom one can get. But it can also be the most stressful years of your life. Being in college is not easy. The workload can be overwhelming and there just might not be enough time in a day to get it all done. If you are depressed, it can possibly be harder to keep up and maintain a good grade point average.

Depression is the constant act of feeling down and having little to no energy to do regular day to day activities. Symptoms may include sadness, hopelessness, dark thoughts and pessimism. According to the World Health Organization, more than 300 million people of all ages suffer from depression.

Students can be impacted by depression by not only their mood and loss of appetite, but also in their academics. Grades are more prone to decrease due to depression. According to Beck’s cognitive theory of depression, in achievement-oriented environments, depressed individuals are prone to react to low grades with a sense of failure due to tendencies to display negative perception of themselves, the world and the future. Students who view themselves negatively because of depression are more threatened by difficult academics. This can affecting their academic potential.

However, do not think that all hope is lost. If you’re worried and focusing on what could go wrong in a situation, change your thought to what could go right. Only you have the power to control what you want your brain to process. As Willie Nelson once said “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.”

If you or a loved one is dealing with depression, do not be afraid to seek help. Depression can be hard to manage and could even result in suicide. Find the help before it is to late. You can find help by talking to a counselor at the Health Center on campus or trying a group counseling session. The Health Center also offers emergency appointments for any students who may be in a lot of distress or whose health and safety is at risk and can’t wait for an appointment. Students can call the Health Center at 410-704-2512 to schedule an emergency appointment.

You can also call the National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255 to seek help if you or a loved one is having suicidal thoughts.

 

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