How-To Guides

A Guide to Graduating Without College Depression

By Saikat ⋅ August 15, 2008 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅ Post a comment

‘It’s time to let you go, in the farthest sense we know’, went the lilting refrain of a gospel song. But this song could be a parent anthem on the verge of sending their kids off to college. After a decade and a half of nurturing, the children head off for an unfamiliar world. In the rush mill of going away preparations, parents should pay heed to the changes which ‘change’ can bring about in their kids. A growing percentage of the young in the United States alone are coming in for depression related problems.

When they cut off the home moorings, how will the younsters deal with pressures of living alone? Could it trip the trigger for mental health disorders?

Youngsters aged 18 to 22 naturally experience a flood of developmental changes coupled with the transition of living on their own for the first time, Add to mix the academic and career related stresses. To ward off the demons many turn to alcohol or drugs. And then their is always the expectation of what college and life would be like.

A statistic paints a worrisome figure - According to the American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment, the percentage of students diagnosed with depression increased to 56% between 2000 and 2005, from 10% to 16% previously. A 2007 survey from the institute says that of more than 20,000 students questioned at 48 schools, 36% were so depressed that it had caused functional difficulties on one to 10 occasions.

It is a drastic shift in rates. But why…

The reason attributed has more to do with diagnosis and reporting of the problems which have always lurked beneath the surface. Willingness to discuss personal problems and health support in the form of campus resources have also helped in increasing awareness. If their is a good side then it is the fact that awareness is resulting in better counseling enabling the kids to deal with the symptoms before it becomes a disease.

A parent(s) helping hand…

Dr. Chris Martin, staff psychiatrist and team leader of the Menninger Clinic’s Compass Program, an inpatient hospital program for 18- to 30-year-olds struggling with psychiatric disorders says,

” Some people are quite vulnerable [to depression], but it doesn’t emerge until the highly stressful years of separation and trying to grow into adulthood.”

So here are some suggestions -

• Be on the lookout for changes in attitudes and behaviors especially during the transition period. Also, be alert for mood swings during the times leading up to summer break and graduation.

• Doctors suggest looking at changes in the child’s appetite, sleeping habits (such as a sudden onset of insomnia), ability to concentrate and energy levels as possible warning signs.

• Discuss the potential pitfalls a child might face while living alone. Future problems might also relate to academic performance, career and relationships. Help the child to prepare mentally by painting a realistic picture of the outside world.

• Through dialogue the child can be imparted the awareness that problems might crop up and it is okay to seek help and even psychiatric counseling.

• Parents should also take a look at the health resources available at the school or colleges on the application list of their child.

• If a child is already in severe bother, then it could mean evaluating a counseling option and looking at expenses and treatments available.

As the brood gets ready to depart, it is not only the young but the care giver who has to prepare for the transition. With a little bit of forethought the change can be unruffled.

Source: Forbes.com
Image: Flickr.com

Tags: depression, kids, mental health