Rachel McClurg
Editor-in-Chief
For some, college can bring on depression and anxiety. The depression that college students experience can become worse as the seasons change as well.
“There is a type of depression that is seasonal and appears to increase in the fall possibly due to lack of sunlight,” Counselor Nancy Hamm said. “Sunlight helps us produce serotonin, which helps many bodily functions including our mood.”
Some Butler students even notice the fact that their depression or anxiety is worse during the school year than it may be in the summer.
“My anxiety and depression are a lot worse during the school year,” Jacqueline Chacon, sophomore theatre education major, said. “I think that I’m more worried about all I’m doing during the summer than being really insecure with how I look and how I act.”
There are many options for students who may be struggling, one being talking with the counselor on campus.
“I’m on campus Monday [through] Friday from 8 a.m. [to] 5 p.m.,” Hamm said. “Students can call my office [at] 322-3162 or email nhamm2@butlercc.edu.”
Though it is not necessarily proven that college students have more mental health issues than those not going to school, the pressure that they put on themselves to succeed can contribute to many types of mental illnesses.
“It seems like this generation is so hard on themselves; they seem consumed with the expectations that others or they themselves have placed on them that are just unrealistic,” Monica Lorg, an instructor of psychology, said. “It’s as if they believe that if everything isn’t ‘perfect,’ the sky will surely fall.”
To some extent, nearly every person gets stressed out, anxious or even depressed, but it is when these things become constant or almost inescapable that they can become a real problem.
“Everyone has some anxiety and mood changes in response to stress or changes in our lives,” Hamm said. “But if it persists to the point where a person has difficulty coping and their day-to-day functioning is starting to suffer, it is important to seek outside help to evaluate for a mental health condition or another medical condition.”
Since mental health issues are so prevalent among students, if anyone is uncomfortable speaking with the counselor on campus or a therapist off campus, talking to a close friend or classmate about how they personally deal with mental health problems could help as well.
“I did a lot of research on how to cope and what to change in myself, and I just started to exercise and eat healthier, and I started going to therapy,” Chacon said. “There are days where it’s hard, even weeks, but that’s the process of healing.”
