DEPRESSION
Has a case of the winter
:j blues hit you? Is the cold
it weather and rain getting you
| down? How about school?
it Midterms and papers creeping
up7 Is your lack of social life
jj or unhealthy relationships
;t causing you distress? All of
if these things along with nu
ll merous others are common
| causes for sadness and de
| pression in a college student's
life
j| it's a part of life to have
it good days and bad days; to ex
it perience stress; to undergo a
if loss or disappointment, or to
| simply be down This is espe
| cially true in the college years
it which immerse us with con
ii stant change within ourselves
it as well as in our environment
| in fact this can even be
ii healthy and give us the
;i chance to explore different
it coping mechanisms that work
it for us; to learn about our
t| selves and how to take care of
ft ourselves. Overcoming unhap
ii pi ness in our lives can be very
tt empowering and increase our
it self efficacy in the long run. It
;; is important to be able to dis
it tinguish the difference be
i; tween normal sadness and de
it pression in order to prevent
ft other mental health disorders
that go along with depression
such as addictions, eating dis
orders, social withdrawal, and
suicide. Overcoming depres
sion is the first step to preven
tion of these as well as creat
ing a happier individual.
There are three factors that
can be used as guidelines in
identifying the difference be
tween sadness and depres
sion The first one is the inten
sity. Feelings of gloom, dis
content and hopelessness are
common to both sadness and
depression In sadness, these
feelings have an identified
cause and a solution that
marks the end to these feel
ings In depression these feel
ings are not only felt, but in
vade your mind body and spir
it Life becomes an exhausting
effort Sadness is fairly short
in duiation and lasts no more
than two weeks Depression is
more chronic and is beyond
the level of employing individ
ual coping skills. The last dis
11 net ion is how these feelings
are affecting your life as a
whole If these feelings take
over your perceptions, ac
tions. and behaviors in all as
pects of your life, then it is de
pression
The most effective way of
combating depression is to
combine self-help methods
along with professional help.
Self-help methods that aid de
pression are basically things
to take care of yourself. These
include proper sleep, eating a
balanced and adequate diet,
setting time aside daily for re
laxation. an exercise program,
stress management strate
gies. social support and posi
tive thinking. Professional
help can provide you with
guidance and skills to over
come your depression as well
as an assessment of the un
derlying causes of depression.
This is perhaps the most cou
rageous and positive step a
person can make in develop
ing a happier lifestyle
Depression is common
among our college population
due to the fact that we are
constantly changing within
ourselves as well as being ex
posed to a plethora of new
ideas in the classroom and
among our peers. We are ad
justing m a real pressure situ
ation and that causes confu
sion and distress which can in
turn lead to depression. This
can be a very exciting and
pleasurable time Take care of
yourself- beat the blues.
by Ginny Ehrlich
SYMPTOMS
OF
DEPRESSION
◄ LACK OF PLEASURE IN
ACTIVITIES THAT USED TO BE
ENJOYED.
◄ GENERAL LACK OF ENERGY
◄ LACK OF MOTIVATION FOR
TASK COMPLETION AND
SOCIAL INVOLVEMENT
◄ FREQUENT CRYING. OFTEN
WITHOUT AN IDENTIFIABLE
CAUSE
◄ LOW SELF ESTEEM AND SELF
WORTH
◄ FEELINGS OF LONELINESS
◄ IRRITABILITY
◄ TROUBLE SLEEPING OR
CHRONIC FATIGUE.
◄ DIFF1C ■ l.TY CONCENTRATING
◄ UNDEtA • ING ANXIETY
◄ PHV ■ AL SYMPTOMS SUCH
AS STOMACH ACHES OR
CONSTIPATION.
IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING ANY
OF THESE SYMPTOMS AND
THEY HAVE PERSISTED FOR
MORE THAN TWO WEEKS.
PLEASE SEEK PROFESSIONAL
HELP
Alas for my friend the book. It may not tell
me what I want to hear but at least it shuts
up when I want it to!
HEALING THE CHILD WITHIN by Charles Whitfield.
M D.
This book describes and develops the concept of
adult children of troubled or dysfunctional families
in general. The child within refers to the part of
each of us which is ultimately alive, energetic, crea
tive and fulfilled
THE COURAGE TO HEAl • A Gmde * W<>men Stir
vivors of Child Sexy ;! Abuse by Ellen Bass & Laura
Davis.
This inspiring personal guide offers hope and on
couragement to every woman who was sexually
abused as a child and those who are around her
AFTER THE TEARS: Re burning the Per: onal L so
es of Childhood by Lori Dwinell.
This book provides guidance and solid treatment
direction for Adult Children of Alcoholics, to help
work through grief, loss and depression
ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS by Janet
Woititz
This book helps ACOAs understand what happened
to them during their childhood, how their charac
ters were affected by their parents' addiction and
flow to get unstuck in adult life
TAKE THAT BREATH-4
lt\
Just taking a deep breath, holding it
and then releasing it can help you relax.
It sounds simple enough but pay atten
tion to your breathing. Chances are it is
shallow and irregular during times of an
■ • ty and tense n Taking a deep breath
or i diaphragmatic" breath using the
muscles at the base of the lungs is the
core of all relaxation technigues Deep
breathing however is not the usual type
of breathing one employs in day to day
activities Try deep breathing and note
the difference.
• First place your left hand on your
chest with your thumb on your collar
bone and your little finger just between
your breasts.
• Now place your right hand on your ab
domen with your little finger on your na
vel and your thumb touching your little
finger of your left hand which is still on
your chest.
• The next step is to inhale, but for a
deep breath your right hand must move
first Like an empty glass, you must fill
from the bottom first, so you need to fill
your lower lungs first.
• Just like the glass filling with water
from bottom to top. do so with your
lungs and fresh air.
• Your ■ tire lungs should now be full
of air and as your lungs are fully ex
pan -:> i . .-nr shoulders might even rise
slight , i ) allow for a full and complete
expan; n of your lungs
• Hold ' it breath a few :m Js ;
let it out
• Re: a these steps again and feci
your bony physically relax as you let
fresh an fill you and leave you.
In contrast, most of us shallow chest
breath This type of breathing occurs
most often under stress: the upper
chest moves and the deep flow of air is
not permitted. Most people use only the
top 13 of their lungs in normal everyday
breathing, denying the remaining ■' 3 re
newal of fresh air. So in times of stress,
if we can remember to take a deep
breath, we just might realize that our
stressors are not that bad or even with
another breath or two. a solution or a
new approach may come to mind.
By Veronica Joll
Alcoholic and Dysfunctional Families
Where does low self esteem orig
inate? Why is it that close relation
ships fill some people with fear: an
inability to trust and an inability to
see oneself as worthy and worth
while? Where does a lack of self ef
ficacy come from: a feeling of capa
bility and self confidence? Adult
children of alcoholics and dysfunc
tional families possess these com
mon characteristics and this topic
has become the theme of numer
ous books, seminars and psycho
therapeutic interventions. For
countless young adults grappling
with their sense of self and ability
to grow close to others, the healing
process begins in undoing the dam
ages of childhood of growing up in
a dysfunctional environment.
Denial in the lamil\ system
occurs ulien e\er\one at
tempts to hide the secret of
the addiction.
Low self esteem (little self-worth)
can be the result of years of mes
sages which say "you're no good
Whether blatantly expressed or in
directly told through innuendoes
that you don't, can t, won't, meas
ure up to some ideal, the cumula
tive effects are a feeling of worth
lessness.
In an alcoholic or drug addicted
family system, the parent(s) display
a wide range of moods and commu
nicate mixed messages. Denial in
the family system occurs when ev
eryone attempts to hide the secret
of the addiction. For a child, this
means not developing close friend
ships for fear the secret will be dis
covered. A drunk parent isn't drunk
•they're upset or sick So the child
learns early on that what they see
isn't real. This may be translated
into "I can't trust or believe anyone
even myself " At times the parent
may make promises they later
break So the child who needs
boundaries and consistencies in
their world has none. They grow up
in a topsy turvy world, never know
ing when it will be topsy or turvy
The origin of a dysfunctional fam
ily instills m the child a lack of self
efficacy. The achievements a child
attains may tie minimized or ig
nored or fall short continually. The
mistakes a child makes may be
highlighted Translated into adult
hood, the adult child has no sense
of validation; an ability to trust
one's accomplishments and ac
knowledge these as missing. The
parent may also blame the child for
their own shortcomings and frus
(rations This only deepens the
scars
The adult child of an alcoholic or
dysfunctional family may have
been abused emotionally, physical
ly, sexually or all three. The most
difficult part is to acknowledge
these early experiences and the
havoc they wreak in adult life.
These events are not the fault of
the child and blaming oneself is a
difficult barrier to overcome.
Acknowledging these experi
ences in oneself is the first step to
healing Seeking help is the next
The Counseling Center offers one
on-one counseling and recovery
groups in areas related to adult
children and sexual abuse. Several
related books are also available at
the Student Health Center Health
Education Library. Also see the
booklist and community referral list
in this issue
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by Daneel Hennagin
I ilitm Beth Gaiser
Dim ini "I Hi .illli I (tin ati<>ii Joanne Frank
Health t (tin .iinti Beth Gaiser Raymond Boyle Laurene Sheilds.
Carmel Crowe Chnssy Bloome Valerie Shannon
Annie Dochnahl
1.11 mil Ik mum Melissa Nelson Beth Gaiser
t\« i Iti.ilili Vifusim: Dana Hiatt Anna Dudey Heidi Reeder
Melanie Steed Ronni Jolt Daneel Hennagm.
Gmny Ehrlich Matt Gnpp Lynette Low Lori
Novich
I’liiilmiihii Jennifer Archer. Teri Boring Alice Cannon
Sandi Dailer. Jim Finch Wendy Morris
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