Depression
Depression can affect anyone at anytime. Everyone is prone to depression while coping with the multiple pressures of school, work, friends and family. Whether you receive high marks or low marks you are equally vulnerable to feeling overwhelmed. You can be pressured to a point where nothing seems to give you pleasure and it becomes hard to get interested in things or just to get started. When you experience these feelings, you may also notice other changes as well.
You may slow down, experience changes in appetite, become irritable, neglect responsibilities and/or self-care, and have difficulty remembering things. Your tutors may comment on your inability to concentrate in class. Employers may notice you do not seem to be as productive as usual. Family members may notice changes in your appetite or sleep patterns. You may experience tension and a tendency to dwell more on your shortcomings than on your achievements. This can become a vicious cycle. The more you focus on negative feedback, the more depressed you can become and the more negative feedback you experience.
How do we begin to break the negative cycle?
Depression can be overcome with help. Counselling and anti-depressant medication can provide relief. Counselling can help people become better able to cope with their problems by providing support and help, examining the underlying causes of depression and working out possible solutions to problems.
If you are not depressed, but someone you care about is, you may want to help but you may not know how. Professional help is available for students living with depressed people. If you, or someone you care about, suffers from any of the above symptoms and you would like more information, contact our the Counselling Service via our webform, or by visiting your campus Student Centre and speaking to one of the Information Officers on duty.