The IU Health Center will be offering a free depression screening for students this week, and next week students can take advantage of a free AIDS test through Bloomington Hospital.
LICKING THE BLUES
Blue tongues will be the reward for students who participate in a depression screening the IU Health Center is sponsoring Thursday. \n"Lick the Blues" is Counseling and Psychological Services' theme for National Depression Screening Day. The screening day is part of Mental Illness Awareness Week, established by the Canadian Psychiatric Association, according to the Web site www.miaw.ca. \nTables will be set up from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at three locations: the Wells library, Student Recreational Sports Center and School of Education. Students will have the chance to speak with professionals about depression, take a quick screening test and grab a blue-colored lollipop if they please. \nThe screening is simple, quick and free, said CAPS counselors. Students will be asked to grab a pencil and check "yes" or "no" to 29 questions about their moods and behaviors in recent months. Professionals will be on hand to assess students' levels of risk based on their answers to the questionnaires. The one-page test can identify a problem if one exists, said Ethan Bliss, a counselor at CAPS.\nStudents often have misconceptions about depression or wonder if they are depressed. This screening will educate them about the disorder and give them more concrete answers, Bliss said.\nNevertheless, determining if someone is depressed is often not a cut-and-dry issue, said Chris Meno, a counselor at CAPS. "It's no blood test," Meno said. "But it is a starting point." \nThe main focus of IU's screening day is not to diagnosis depression, Meno said, but to promote education and awareness about depression. \nMeno and Bliss also said the event aims to let students know that it is OK to admit that they are depressed. Depression has a negative stigma, and it's important for students to recognize that it's not an unusual problem, Meno and Bliss said.\nOne in seven college students will experience depression sometime during their college career, according to the American College Health Association. Of that group, two-thirds of students will not seek treatment. If depression is left untreated, students could remain depressed, Meno said. But if students do seek treatment, 80 percent show an improvement in behavior and generally feel better. \nIt's important to screen now for depression because college is a time when a lot of mental disorders start to take form, said Sarah Coleman, president of National Alliance on Mental Illness. If students recognize depression early on, they can get treatment so they don't have to suffer longer than they need to, she said.
FREE HIV TESTING
Students can also take advantage of a free AIDS test Oct. 10, sponsored by Positive Link, which provides HIV and AIDS services through Bloomington Hospital. The testing will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Dagwood Room of the Indiana Memorial Union.\nThe IU Health Center also offers STD testing, including HIV testing, throughout the school year. \nStudents shouldn't feel uneasy about getting tested for STDs, said Dr. Hugh Jessop, executive director at the IU Health Center. \n"IU Health Center providers are not here to judge you," he said. \nStaff members understand that sex is part of a series of experimentations that happen during college and they are here to make sure students leave the building healthy, he said. \n"The screening is simple," he said. "There is just no excuse."\nStudents can call ahead to make a free appointment or pay an $18 fee for a walk-in consultation. During the appointment, the student's risk level is assessed, after which he or she choose from a "menu" of testing options available to them. With the provider's input, the student decides which tests to take and is referred to the Health Center lab. \nAlthough these tests are not free, the IU Health Center offers HIV and STD testing at a fraction of the price hospitals charge, Jessop said. Prices range from $13 to $75 for students who have paid IU's health fee. The tests are also completely confidential. \n"When someone has intercourse, even if it is with just one partner, that person's risk of contracting a STD increases," said Jessop. "It only takes one person." \nThe IU Health Center offers a variety of screenings for both mental and physical illnesses. To learn more about the screenings offered at both CAPS and the IU Health Center's lab, visit their link on IU Health Center's Web site, www.indiana.edu/~health/.
