Kendall Pollard

ENG 102

Dr. Cuddy

3/19/2019

Students Dealing With Anxiety and Depression

Depression and anxiety is a significant issue that students deal with. It is a problem that

needs to be talked about. People need to be informed and educated about the demons of

depression and anxiety that students have to fight every day. Mental health is a very important

thing that should be taken care of. A lot of things that can lead to anxiety and depression in

students is the constant struggle of grades, friendships, relationships, finances, and even issues

going on within their family. Anxiety and depression can impact students in a negative way. It

can often lead to suicide. Studies show that in 2016, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death

in the United States. Can you imagine how many people had to be dealing with anxiety and

depression for suicide rates to be that high? If people do not see a problem within this situation, I

hope my message gets across to show how this is a serious issue in society.

Depression and anxiety are really serious problems in colleges across the country. Many

mental health conditions are diagnosed between the typical college age range of 18 to 24. Jerald

Kay, M.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the Wright State University

School of Medicine said, “There is no question that all of the national surveys we have at our

fingertips show a distinct rise in the number of mental health problems.” This shows us that there

is has been a constant rise in mental health disorders. In fact, according to the JED Foundation,

in the past 15 years, depression has doubled and suicide has tripled. According to a survey from
the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA), universities and colleges also have seen

an increase in students seeking services for anxiety disorders. So this shows us clearly that

anxiety and depression is a serious problem. Although rates in seeking help for anxiety has

increased, it does not change the fact that depression and suicide rates are rising. In order for the

suicide rates to go down, we have to find a way for students to cope with their anxiety and

depression. Anxiety and depression should be taken very seriously.

Many people who suffer with anxiety and depression tend to turn to substances. It is

really common for depressed people to turn to alcohol. Over 50 percent of all people who die by

suicide suffer from major depression. If one includes alcoholics who are depressed, this percent

rises to over 75 percent. Alcohol often turns into a getaway for people who deal with depression.

Hence the reason why the suicide rates rise when it comes to depressed alcoholics. Depression is

one of the mental disorders that is treated the most. Out of the people who undergo treatment for

depression, between 80 percent and 90 percent of them respond positively to the treatment.

Mostly all of the patients gain some kind of relief from their symptoms. But first, depression has

to be recognized. Depression plays a role in more than one half of all suicide attempts, whereas

the lifetime risk of suicide among patients who go without treatment is nearly 20 percent.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, suicide was the 10th

leading cause of death in the United States in 2016. It was also the second leading cause of death

in people between the ages of 25-34 years old, the third leading cause in people between the ages

of 10-24 years old, and the fourth leading cause in people between the ages of 35-54 years old.

When we look at a show like 13 Reasons Why, we recognize the problems and how

tragic it is when a student decides to take their own life because they are depressed. That
television series shows the lack of listening to and support of people, specifically students, that

battle depression everyday. The main character of this show was constantly getting bullied, lied

on, and she was even being sexually harassed. No one listened to her or even checked up on her

to see if she was doing okay. They just let her go through whatever she was going through in

silence. There was nobody there for her, not even the counselors at school. Therefore she was

super depressed and then she unfortunately ended her life. Depression is silent, you may not even

know that some people are depressed. In the case of this television show, almost everyone had no

idea why she would kill herself but then they later realize that each one of them pushed her little

by little to the edge.

Major depressive disorder is very serious and extremely dangerous, when it comes to

suicide, the outcomes of medical illness, disruption in relationships that the person has, substance

abuse, and lost work time. With the right treatment, 70-80% of people with major depressive

disorder can reach a significant amount of reduction in the symptoms. Although as many as 50%

of patients may not respond to the initial treatment trial, once they keep getting treated, they will

see a big difference. These statistics show that with the correct treatment, people who suffer with

depressive disorder can be helped.

Therefore, depression and anxiety needs to be taken extremely seriously. In order for

suicide rates to go down, I think people need to realize how much anxiety and depression can

negatively affect students so we can avoid suicide rates going up even more than they already

are. Anxiety and depression is a very important topic that needs to needs to be taken seriously

and with the proper treatment, it could help suicide rates go down.
 Work Cited

“Depression and Anxiety Among College Students.” JED, 19 Oct. 2016,

www.jedfoundation.org/depresion-and-anxiety-among-college-students/.

“Depression.” Practice Essentials, Background, Pathophysiology, 27 Feb. 2019,

emedicine.medscape.com/article/286759-overview#a6.

“Suicide.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization,

www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/suicide.