Students suffer from holiday depression

While some students bask in the holiday cheers and family bliss piercing the frigid winter air, some students cope with their holiday blues by drowning themselves in a pool of depression without an aftertaste of eggnog. \nTo take the debate between "HO-HO-HO" and "Bah-Humbug" beyond mere semantics, students suffering from clinical depression often discover the trials and tribulations of the holiday season results through increased stress conditions, anxious feelings, nervous thinking, disordered eating habits and suicidal tendencies. \nAdministering assistance for the psychological health and well-being needs of about 3,000 students each year, Nancy Stockton, director of Counseling and Psychological Services said a relationship exists between depression and anxiety during all seasons of the year.\n"Certainly, (the holiday season) can be a time when people get depressed," Stockton said. "Some people experience a seasonal depression, which occurs at the same time each year, not necessarily during holidays. Some people have happy memories to associate with a holiday; other people associate a holiday with family problems, death or illness. The melancholy and sad feelings associated with the holidays is the flip side of joy and celebration."\nAccording to a CaPS pamphlet distributed by the IU Health Center, about 15 percent of college students have been diagnosed with depression. Of that 15 percent, more than 25 percent are undergoing regular counseling and about 40 percent take medication for depression. \nSenior Emily Potempa said the winter holiday season is joyous for her because the seven members of her family come together for a celebration.\n"I'm not depressed and none of my friends are," Potempa said. "I go and do things that make me happy, like going out with friends. Depending on what my friends want me to do, I will either listen or talk if they are in trouble and call. I feel like I'm usually helpful; it helps, letting them talk it out. Sometimes they can figure things out on their own."\nTo cope with potential holiday anxiety in troubled family and home environments lacking love and compassion, Stockton said students might try to not focus on the materialism of the holidays, to rethink certain situations perceived as problematic, to get in touch with things they feel are important, to spend time with those they love and to enjoy that time.\n"December holidays bring out great family expectations on perfectionism -- rituals that need to be performed in a certain way and high expectations as to how family members and friends should behave," Stockton said. "The holiday season is a good time to keep up with physical exercise, maintain one's work schedule and avoid serious overeating. Try to slow down a little bit and give oneself some contemplation time. Take a long walk through some naturally beautiful setting; pay attention to sleep."\nBecause the winter holiday season incorporates celebrations of a new year, Stockton said students might spend their time away from school thinking about ways to remedy their troubled relationships.\n"All of us may feel like we don't want to go out for a day," Stockton said. "Isolation for a sustained period of time is a symptom of depression. Also, sleep disturbances, appetite disruptions, loss of interest in normal activities, feelings of hopelessness, increased irritability and increased stress indicate possible depression. Depression has complicated causes, some of which are biochemical. There are treatments; there is a certain amount of hope. \nStudents wishing to undergo a depression screening can do so at CaPS by calling 855-5711 to set an appointment with certified personnel. In the meantime, students wanting to improve their moods can contact the IU Health Center at 855-7338 to schedule a private 45 minute massage by a massage therapist -- a body rub complete with massage oil. If time is of the essence within emergency circumstances, students suffering from feelings of hopelessness can call a "listening line" from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m at 339-2803 or a suicide crisis hotline from 6 p.m. to midnight at 332-6060.\nOther then depression screening from certified health care technicians such as therapists, psychologists or counselors, Stockton said friends can recognize signs of stress, distress, drug dependency or emotional need indicating someone is suffering from a depressed emotional state.\n"What are our friends telling us?" Stockton said. "Slow down and pay attention to the feedback from good friends we trust. Be realistic; take a realistic focus. Try to make a realistically optimistic plan for the future -- for the spring semester. The more we can get our minds off ourselves and on to the other people the better off we are."\n-- Contact staff writer David A. Nosko at dnosko@indiana.edu.