Depression In Student Life

The 'best time of your life'?

There are indeed many exciting and enjoyable aspects to being a student. But the same challenges and changes which make student days potentially so life-enhancing can also present opportunities for depression to intrude. Depression is the most common issue for which university counsellors are consulted by students*.

Recipe for student depression

Some other aspects of modern student life which may create vulnerability to depression for some students include:

• Lack of control

  The policy of rapidly expanding student numbers means that there is increasing pressure to go on to further education after school. Some students find themselves at university or college without the sense of having actively chosen this path or their specific course. Students are also expected to take much more active responsibility for their learning than would have been the case at school. The relative lack of structure and discipline can leave students feeling chaotic and out of control.

• Sense of inferiority

  A policy of rapidly expanding student numbers raises the potential for students to experience failure and defeat. Some because further study is not the appropriate path for them, and some because of increased pressure to get a 'good' degree. For all students, further education means becoming a 'smaller fish in a bigger pond'.

• All-or-nothing and perfectionist thinking

  Some of the messages given about further education may have an over-simplified or perfectionist tone to them - that it's impossible to get a good job and have a decent life without a university degree, or that employers will only look at 2.1s and above, for example. By definition not everyone can be 'above average', and both life and the job market are a lot more complex that that.

• Lifestyle issues

  A typical student lifestyle can look very like a recipe for depression! Inconsistent sleep patterns, unhealthy eating habits, lack of exercise and excessive consumption of alcohol and/or drugs can all play a role in contributing to the depression habit spiral.

• Social comparison and peer pressure

  Being away from home and from familiar values and supports also makes students more reliant on their peer group. This can be difficult and isolating for those who do not 'fit' the average student mould, or when the campus culture does not allow for a wide enough range of social activities - for example, not catering for non-drinkers or non-smokers.

• Chronic stress

  For some students, if other life circumstances are already stressful, the stresses of student life may be one stress too many, tipping them over into chronic stress.

Coping with student stress

Depression has a way in when our stress response systems are over-loaded or don't work well. Each student will bring to the challenges of student life habits shaped by their own unique life experiences and influences. If these include depressed thinking habits, or if students do not access appropriate support, then they may become vulnerable to depression.

Help and support

Most universities and colleges now provide a wide range of student support services designed to help students cope with all these challenges. University health services and counselling services will have doctors and counsellors who are experienced in helping students affected by depression. Most academic departments are also aware of the mental health needs of students and should provide appropriate support related to academic tasks. There is also often informal peer support to be found.

What's stopping you getting help?

Often the most difficult thing is for a student to resist over-simplified cultural messages about dependence and independence (see a depression-inducing society?) and to recognise and accept the usefulness of some support or help!

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