BY: Taniya Frazier
College comes with a lot of new experiences, challenges, and adventures. However, there is one thing that creeps up on college students that no one wants, depression. A dark cloud that can ruin a person’s outlook and hovers over everything. College students are like gymnasts. We have to juggle academics, a social life, and work. We have to handle everything as if we are on a balance beam. If one part of your life becomes too heavy, you are at a risk of falling. If another part of your life isn’t equally balanced, how are you going to regain your balance? Depression is like this. When things get off balance or goes unplanned, it’s more than just a disappointment. Things begin to pile up on your plate until you feel like everything is your fault or you didn’t do something right. Failure feels like this. As things begin to be too much to handle, it will feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. The weight of the world as you are still trying to stand tall on your balance beam.
Well, I’m here to let you know that you don’t have to go through any of that alone. The most important thing to do if you are ever suffering from depression is to talk to someone. You can talk to a parent, a friend, or even a stranger. I have discovered, when people are dealing with a lot and a stranger notices that they are not doing well, they tend to pour out everything they are feeling. This moment of vulnerability is okay. This moment, in the long run, helps people start to get back on track or regain their balance. The problem with depression is people want to keep their feelings inside, but that is the worst thing you can do.
You can do many things to battle depression. If you’re not ready to talk to someone yet, there are other tricks and flips that you can do on your balance beam. Start looking at your inner circle. The people that you spend time with a lot can be a factor in how you feel. If you have negative people in your friend group, their bad energy can cause your depression to be difficult to deal with. Be mindful of a clean safe place. For example, my resident hall is my safe place after a long day of classes. However, if my room looks like a hurricane came through, I won’t get any peace. A clean room will mentally improve your outlook, if only a little.
Personally, I have dealt with depression on and off since high school. This mental state isn’t something to take lightly. Once you fall of the beam, it’s hard to get back up. I can remember a time sophomore year when one thing didn’t go well. Soon everything after that began to fall apart. Grades, not talking to my family, and lack of work were just to name a few. As a defense mechanism, I shut people out. I didn’t talk to anyone. I felt comfort in being depressed in a weird way. Luckily, I always had someone in my corner to talk to. Depression doesn’t have to be long term. You have the flexibility and strength to balance everything that comes your way while you’re in college. You just have to be willing.
As students of AUM, you are offered free help from the Counseling Center located on the third floor of the Taylor Center. You can make one phone call at 334-244-3469 and set up a confidential appointment. Also, you can set up a confidential appointment on the AUM website as well. The help is here. You just have to reach out and take one step on your balance beam to regain control!