Depression Hurts

Stein theorizes in her essay "Depression in College Students" that in order to prevent suicide, college students should be better informed about what depression is, the symptoms of depression and learn about the available resources to anyone who is depressed or knows someone that is. Stein also advocates for more funding towards counseling as there is often not enough counselors for the overwhelming amount of students. She supports this thesis by utilizing statistics such as, “A study by the American College Health Association in 2005 showed that 15 percent of college students around the country have been professionally diagnosed with depression, up from 10 percent in 200.” It is clear that the rate of depression in college students has increased and Stein provides a solution to this up-rise: to educate people about what depression really is. There is a strong correlation between college and suicide rate and this cannot be ignored any longer.

Stein supports her claim that counseling departments are not being funded enough by using expert opinion. “According to Hill, one of the biggest challenges CAPs faces is a lack of funding, leading to fewer counselors than are really needed to serve the number of students coming in.” Depression is becoming dreadfully common among college students yet when they attempt to seek out help, there is none available. Counselors are filled to the brim with appointments and students are not able to schedule an appointment. The student dealing with depression is already feeling insignificant and this inability to get help will only deteriorate their feelings of self-worth.

I agree with her solution to the issue of depression in college students. Students must be better educated about depression and how to detect this alarming mood disorder. Besides being educated about the disorder itself, students must also be encouraged to seek out help if they are struggling with depression and they should not feel embarrassed or ashamed. I also agree with Stein’s call for more funding to counseling services. It is vital that there are enough counselors for students to talk to or else the student will believe that there is no one to help them or worse, no one to care about them.

No I would not do anything different had I wrote an essay on this problem. Her essay was well written, well-organized and she was able to provide a feasible solution. She made good use of her sources to support her thesis. I like how Stein concluded her essay by reminding us that it is also up to the student to watch out for each other and be supportive of each other.