Picture yourself as a freshman, or maybe you are a freshman. You just moved into your new dorm room and you’re excited to finally have freedom. Then you meet your roommate and you come to find that you two don’t get along. There is tension, you’re having a hard time making friends and concentrating in class because you pulled an all-nighter to get your homework done, and your parents are pressuring you to keep your grades up.

Or, you’re a senior. You’re starting to panic because you haven’t landed an internship and time is running out. You’ll have to start job hunting and you still have no idea what you want to do with your life. You didn’t get into that class you need to fulfill academic requirements and your professor is not accommodating. Your college loans have accumulated more than 16 percent in interest rates over the last four years and those bills are going to start coming in. How do you deal with this?

Depression is a common yet serious mental illness typically associated with sad or anxious feelings, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Many students feel these emotions from time-to-time. Depression that goes untreated, “lasts for a long time, interferes with day-to-day activities, and is much more than just being ‘a little down’ or ‘feeling blue.’”

Some college students, like the 30 percent who were nationally surveyed by the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment, said that they felt “so depressed it was difficult to function.”

More than 19 million American adults ages 18 and older, almost 10 percent of American adults, are affected by depression every year according to National Data on Campus Suicide and Depression. For college students, 44 percent report having symptoms of depression.

Many cases of depression in college students may stem from a feeling of hopelessness due to factors such as academic performance, according to the Director of Clinical Field Supervision for Pace’s Department of Psychology and Mental Health Counseling Dr. Joseph R. Franco.

In fact, 49.5 percent of college students reported feeling hopeless within the past year.

“For millennials there is such a high expectation of performance and success,” Franco said. “There is such a high expectation of what it means to perform well and be successful.”

Franco believes that this hopelessness is derived from parental pressures students may face.

“There is a great deal of parent involvement in the younger generation of millennials depending upon the structure of the family,” Franco said. “The research shows there is a high stress for perfectionism. You have to be good at a lot of things and that creates a lot of significant distress because what if you aren’t good at some of those things? So not only does the perfectionism come from your overall schooling, your peer group, the need for parents to make sure you’re doing a good job, but it’s also living up to high standards that are socially constructed by society. There is this idea of, ‘I better do as better or better than everyone else,’ and this fear of self-criticism and judgment from family and peers.”

The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) says that financial problems, physical assault, psychological abuse, chronic physical illness or disability, insomnia and nightmares, and relationships play a role triggering depression, such as breakups or relationship violence.

“Often, a breakup will precipitate a bout of depression. This is especially true for young women,” said an article on Health Line. “Risks of depression related to a breakup include intrusive thoughts, difficulty controlling those thoughts, and trouble sleeping. As many as 43 percent of students experience insomnia in the months following a breakup. Students that are most likely to become distressed after a breakup experienced neglect or abuse during childhood, had an insecure attachment style, felt more betrayed, and were more unprepared for the breakup.”

Franco says one of the biggest factors that contribute to depression is social media, however.

“Our online presence is to project success and happiness and there is a lot of stress to do that,” Franco said. “Yet how one intrinsically feels may be a total contradiction. Many times what we show on the outside and how we feel on the inside are in direct conflict. Social media can hurt someone through bullying or bad breakups but some studies do show that social media has actually saved people’s lives so it can either be for the benefit or detriment.”

So how can untreated depression affect college students?

Depression in students can lead to them dropping out of school, increase “risky” behavior—drug and alcohol use—, which in turn can increase depressive thoughts because they’re depressants and ultimately suicidal ideation.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that suicide is the No. 2 leading cause of death among those ages 10-34, with the No. 1 cause being unintentional injury/accident.

Additionally, one-in-12 college students plan suicide, according to National Data on Campus Suicide and Depression, and more teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from all other medical illnesses combined.

The SPRC says that suicide risk factors include depressive disorders, substance abuse or dependence, delinquency/conduct disorders, disorders such as anxiety disorders or eating disorders, self-injury, or previous suicide attempts among others such as family history.

There is hope even when it seems that all has been lost, however.

“For Pace students, both campuses have a really stellar counseling center. The counseling center has reached out to us as faculty and administrators to give us warning signs so even if you’re not a psychologist or a mental health counselor; you know what to look for and can make a referral [if a student seems depressed],” Franco said.

The Pace Pleasantville Counseling Center offers walk-in sessions Monday through Friday from 1 PM to 2:30 PM as well as scheduled appointments. Pace Counseling Services comply with confidentiality standards. For more information about making an appointment and services offered, visit:

http://www.pace.edu/counseling/library-and-grants/guide-to-the-counseling-experience

Or, call or go online to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:

1-800-273-8255

http://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/#