Navigating Depression In College

The freedom of college can feel like a responsibility as you navigate who you are, what interests you, and how you want to show up in the world.

It may be your first time away from the comfort of your childhood home, a welcomed break from your loved ones, or somewhere in between.

You have access to liberties that may not have shown up beforehand and learning how to handle yourself in situations can be a challenge.

If you feel grief, homesickness, or overall sadness that doesn’t make sense; you are not alone.

If you are experiencing negative feelings, low self worth, hopelessness, worthlessness, lack of interest in usually enjoyable activities or relationships, increase or decrease in appetite, increase or decrease in energy and/or sleep, you may need more support to manage your experience.

Read More: “Common Questions About Depression Answered.”

You may be experiencing a form of depression that can come with the transition to college, increased stress and overwhelm that can accompany college.

Other factors may also contribute to depression in college, like genetics and a chemical or hormonal imbalance.

College depression is not abnormal, and it can come in many forms from mild to severe depression and can last for a short or long period of time.

Regardless of how depression is showing up for you, you can get the support you need to ease it.

Here are 5 ways to help yourself with college depression.

1. Acknowledge Your Feelings.

You may have unspoken rules for yourself on how to show up in college. Likely, you have heard that college is supposed to be the best time in your life as you make discoveries and learn new things.

These beliefs or messages can make suffering with depression feel even more difficult. “I shouldn’t feel depressed. I am in college and supposed to be having fun.” 

If you have feelings of depression during college, you are not wrong or defective.

It also doesn’t mean that you have a mental illness or diagnosable depressive disorder, even though it is okay if you have been diagnosed with one.

When you acknowledge your feelings of depression you can get yourself back to middle ground and safe again despite mental health issues.

It allows yourself to understand what the presenting issue is and what might need to happen next.

Admitting to feeling depressed or talking to others about feelings of depression can be hard, especially if it was not talked about growing up or received well by others in the past when you did reach out for help.

Instead of stuffing your feelings or denying them, open up a space for them.

It may feel scary but sit with your emotions to let them pass through you; they will pass. They always do.

Admitting how you are feeling not only names what’s going on, it also allows you make decisions on what’s best for you when feeling the way you do.

2. Join A Club.

Your depression may be telling you that the best option is to isolate yourself. Often, the best options are the opposite of what feels most comfortable when you are depressed.

If you feel like you want to isolate and be alone, it is time to get outside of your space and meet with people. It may feel contradictory, but it is a good way to make strides when you feel depressed.

Social isolation can lead to worsening depression and other mental health challenges. By engaging in the community around you, you can gain social support.

College campuses often have a plethora of activities available and seeking out connections can be supportive as well as reduce the risk of mental health problems.

You can break up tasks into very small steps if you have overwhelming anxiety, clinical depression, or experience depressive episodes.

You don’t have to complete everything at once but making an effort toward connection can be life changing.

You are not alone.

3. Tap Into Mental Health Resources.

Often, college campuses will have a set number of free therapy or counseling sessions for students that they offer as part of mental health services that can be found in student services.

Accessing mental health services for student mental health can be a way to get preventative with mental health treatment. Engage in your well-being by understanding what is available to you.

Read More: “Help For Depression. Finding Hope Through Support”

If your on campus therapist or counselor doesn’t feel like the right match for you, explore what feels best to you.

You can call your health center or search for resources outside of school to see what options you have accessible to you.

Seeking professional support can be a way to get objectivity in a situation and learn ways of coping.

Narrow vision can lead to depression so when you are able to verbally process what is on your heart and mind, you can understand more about the situation.

Professional counseling is a wonderful way to build support for yourself.

4. Let Go Of Expectations.

You don’t have to be more than you can be for yourself. Your existence is enough.

When you compare yourself to others, it can be detrimental to your mental health.

Whether you have expectations about academic performance, friendships, or something else about higher education; do your best to eliminate your expectations.

You are not being fair to yourself when you compare your experience to others’.

You don’t know the reality of the situation with other university students, so making guesses as to what is true can lead to an undesirable outcome.

If you need to change your experience in any way, you have the option to do that.

It may feel overwhelming initially, but it can lead to a broader perspective and learning about yourself.

Read More: “Helpful Tips For Making The Transition To College”

Internal anger leading to depression can come up when you abandon yourself by trying to meet or adhere to others’ expectations.

Instead of ignoring yourself repetitively, make space for what ideas you had and how they are no longer true for you.

Ideas, feelings, and outcomes shift all of the time.

Embracing what is actually happening rather than what you wish would happen can be helpful when you are dealing with depression in college.

5. Limit Your Alcohol Intake.

Alcohol can be incredibly enticing during college when you have new freedom, access to drinking, and parties that can encourage one-upping each other resulting in binge drinking.

It is often part of college life no matter which college you attend and, it is often encouraged as a means for coping after a long stressful day.

Drinking is often used to numb feelings, rather than allowing yourself to move through feelings as we were made to do as a natural release of emotion.

By using alcohol to distract or numb, you are only bottling up feelings for future, likely, unplanned outbursts of emotion.

Alcohol is a depressant, so the more you consume, the more likely, you will feel the impact on your mood.

Risk factors are associated with alcohol that can result in physical symptoms. If the disease of alcoholism has impacted your family in any way, you may want to check in with your own relationship toward alcohol.

There is recovery and help available to you if you feel like drinking has become a problem for you.

Support groups are available on college campuses and can be a form of treatment. You don’t have to drink every night to have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol.

Read More: “4 Tips For Managing Depression When It’s Hard”

When you feel depressed, limiting your alcohol intake can be beneficial. Often, decisions associated with alcohol can cloud judgement and make you feel stuck.

Consider your relationship with alcohol if you feel depressed.

As much as college can feel like new found freedom, the responsibility of it can be overwhelming. If you are feeling depressed or have depression, you are not alone. There is help available to you.

Tapping into your communities and resources is a way to get the support you need. You don’t have to show up as anyone other than yourself. If you haven’t figured out who that is yet, keep trying.

You are worth the effort now and will be later too.

At Denver Metro Counseling our Colorado therapists work with students as they transition to college and provide counseling for young adults who may want additional support.

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Written by: Randi Thackeray, MA
Clinically Reviewed and Edited by: Julie Reichenberger, MA, LPC, ACS, ACC