My freshman year in college, I was completely ostracized by my dormmates over something stupid I did at a social engagement (an excuse, really, for the fact I wasn’t a trust fund baby). So I sought counseling.
The (free) counseling helped somewhat, but it didn’t seem to go anywhere. I still thought about continuing it sophomore year, but Georgetown decided to bill counseling to parents’ health insurance the next year. Needless to say, I did not want my (to-this-day unenlightened) mom and stepdad seeing I was going to counseling, so that was it.
Perhaps it was a situational depression; but I was also routinely pulling all-nighters, etc. to finish papers. I wonder how my life would have been different if the counselor had said, “Maybe you need to see a psychiatrist …”

This is such a huge issue. There are some solid books on helping kids make the transition from high school to college though they tend to skim over mental health issues.
Might be worth posting something like this in August……..

Five years after graduating from high school, I’m now in my junior year of college, taking a slow path to graduation. I know we’re allowed our time to change our minds and take it easy developing, but depression has been a huge issue with me during my university years–changing schools, taking time off, dropping classes, changing my major (every time things start to get challenging). I live in a big city where friends are dispersed and hard to get a hold of, so there’s not much release from the tiring and lonely work of research and writing. It’s tough out there! I’m already seeing a therapist and am past the ‘preparing for college’ stage, so I guess I didn’t find anything specific here that speaks directly to me, but even just seeing the title is comforting to know that it’s a college phenomenon – or at least I hope it is. I was a firecracker in high school, non-stop busy with different clubs and activities, all-the-while maintaining great grades. Now I’ve lost my passion for everything extracurricular, and only keep up my academics for fear of failure. I always wonder what happened to the old me, and what I’ll be like once I graduate…I often fear this will hold me back in the work-force as well. I’m definitely learning how powerful intention and attitude is, but anyone who has delt with depression sure knows that one is easier said than done!! Anyway, just a long rant, but maybe another struggling college student will find some solidarity in it as well!

Hi
The problem is both the stigma associated with seeking help and the privacy act -
In the VA tech and the other tragedy in the midwest- both individuals had a history of mental illness- major mental illness!
my prayers are with all!!

Depreesion is something that I really had to deal with. I am a freshman in college and the environment was totally different environment than what I was used to. I had no friends even though I had roommates. I felt so alone and like no one would understand how I felt even if I were to tell them. I cried every break I had because I’d have to go back to school. But then I transferred closer to home and it started to get better. I realized I actually was not ready for such a big change so far away.

I’m not in college. High school is a distant memory. That said, the list of classic early signs of depression hits home. I take 50 mg. of Zoloft (sertaline) every day. Due to some financial issues, I ran out and wasn’t able to get a refill for a couple of months. I was concerned that I could crash and burn. Fortunately, that never happened. I did find that my ability to concentrate wasn’t what it usually is. I’m seriously AR, so it threw me. I attributed it to stress at home, spilling over into work. I became defensive to the point of being down right prickly. Again, I thought it was nothing more than stress. I had no idea that the things I was dealing with could have been signs that I was heading for the black hole. I’m back on my medication and feel that I may have dodged a bullet.

I definitely agree that this is a big issue. I go to an ivy league college and the competition here is fierce, during my freshmen year I had so many problems with room mates, academics and dealing with being so far away from home that I was seriously depressed and had to go to the school’s mental health support services. However, this year I am much better and much more able to cope with problems and issues. Now I am in a peer to peer group trying to reach out to other students who may be feeling the same way that I have felt. There really is no shame in this as it is more prevalent than you would think and the most important thing is to get help.

I am a college student as well as a full time employee and girlfriend. I am in the unfortunate situation of having to work my way through school. This alone is stressful enough. I was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder in my early teens. I’m in my late twenties now. I avoided the fact that having this disorder was like having diabetes, a condition that must be monitored and medicated to control or else. I spent too many years in the “or else” side of things. It’s an absolutely miserable place to be. School was taking forever because I just couldn’t stay focused and my moods were all over the map. I have the drive to be successful in life, but I have very little support as my family and close friends live across the country. I avoided getting the help I needed because of the stigma that “mental illness is undesirable.” What if some one knew? Would I be looked at differently? Probably. Would people secretly judge me as being crazy? Definitely. If I told one of my professors that I’m having a hard time because of this condition, would they be understanding or ignorant? There’s a lot of talk lately about colleges monitoring students with mental conditions and possibly expelling them from school for the “safety” of everyone else in lieu of the campus shootings. I’m not trying to write a book here, but I do feel very strongly about this. I am not violent, nor have I ever been. This is discriminatory practice by the public in general. It is no different than any form of discrimination, be it gender, physical, or racial. We, as a community, need to start openly discussing this issue. You never know what great minds may be discarded due to a mental illness.

I am in my sophomore year of college and I have never felt so depressed in my whole life. My friends have abandoned me and no one will call me make. I so angry and depress right now that I spend most of my energy trying not to show my angry while I’m in public. I have gone by my student mental health center and it is not helping feel any better. I wake up depress and angry and go to sleep the same. I feel that I want to transfer schools but I know that this cycle will repeat it self