How To Cope With Depression

Depression refers to a swing in mood and a feeling of sadness. It is a common problem in every age group, especially in college students, and consequences of depression can be serious. Generally, when people are depressed their feelings are often accompanied by hopelessness in every aspect of their life.

There are many causes of depression that are not easy to find. Some people might get depressed because they are unable to understand changes in their life, like death of loved ones or ending of relationships. Depression differs in men and women and between age groups (Hyde 2008) and their effective, biological and cognitive factors contribute to vulnerabilities to depression. Moreover, one research study showed that 53% of people suffering from depression experienced depression beginning in college, with 9% reporting that they had considered committing suicide while in college (Furr 2001). Thus, suggestions for college mental health practitioners related to programming, prevention, and psychoeducation are crucial.

To cope with depression, it is important to reach out for depression support first. As long as you are aware of getting depressed, you should try to seek out some help from people who make you feel safe and cared for. In college, you can join any support group or reach out your counselor to express your feelings. Being with others who have dealt with depression can go a long way in reducing your sense of isolation and loneliness. The very first step to cope with depression is to reach out and stay connected with social environment so that you can better handle with emotional conflicts promptly.

There are more specific emotion-focused therapies for depression. Trying to keep yourself in a safe environment is crucial in the first step (Greenberg 2006). Breathing fresh air, reading a book you love, taking a long hot bath and listening to a harmonic music can all be effective for emotional cure.

This is an example of comfortable environment to release stress.
This is an example of comfortable environment to release stress.

Besides cognitive and behavioral therapy, there are pharmaceutical therapies to cure depression.  Studies have shown that with a combination of scheduled office visits and telephone calls, pharmacists working closely with psychiatric liasons were effective in providing medication comanagement for depression (Brent etc. 2008). Above all, eating a healthy  diet, especially boosting Vitamin B has a direct impact on the way you feel.

In conclusion, instead of worrying, you should stay optimistic about recovering from depression. First you need to find out both emotional and biological causes and prevent them. Then by using emotional, behavioral and pharmaceutical therapy, you can gradually cope with depression effectively.

References

Hyde, J. S., Mezulis, A. H., & Abramson, L. Y. (2008). The ABCs of depression: integrating affective, biological, and cognitive models to explain the emergence of the gender difference in depression. Psychological review, 115(2), 291.

Furr, S. R., Westefeld, J. S., McConnell, G. N., & Jenkins, J. M. (2001). Suicide and depression among college students: A decade later. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 32(1), 97.

Greenberg, L. S., & Watson, J. C. (2006). Emotion-focused therapy for depression. American Psychological Association.

Brent, D., Emslie, G., Clarke, G., Wagner, K. D., Asarnow, J. R., Keller, M., … & Birmaher, B. (2008). Switching to another SSRI or to venlafaxine with or without cognitive behavioral therapy for adolescents with SSRI-resistant depression: the TORDIA randomized controlled trial. Jama, 299(8), 901-913.

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