Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 2018)
3 BY LUIS CORREA. SAD dampens the mood 1 ’ ~ * ,1 ? < ' '■ t, r T' ART'S AND CULTURE'EDrtB.R In the depths of winter, with daylight slip p ing away before evening and temperatures barely hitting the freezing mark. The cold .season can bring much more than gale force winds and snow. For some Clackamas Community College students, it can trigger feelings o f hopelessness and depression. The psychological condition known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is characterized as a major depression that strives in the fall or winter and lifts; in the spring or summer, but can still linger. Even though it"-is less com m on to see the dreary w eather have the opposite effect on people, in both cases, sym ptoms may start out mild and become more severe as the season progresses. Symptoms include feelings o f depression, w o rth lessn ess, low energy, fatigue and lack of interest in usually enjoyable activities. Due to the lack of sunlight that provides vitamin D. “ One in four students experiences c depression in college,” said Stephanie Schaefer a counselor at CCC. “ It will usually be a sign ifican t depression where students have thought about suicide, not necessarily to act on it but the idea had crossed their mind. So, it’s a pretty serious problem in our school and you can bet that at least 25 percent of our student body have experienced th is.” SAD is one of the leading cause of depression this season, but there are still many students who suffer from depression throughout the year. At CCC, statistics show that there has been 747 scheduled counseling appointm ents in the 2017-2018 academic year: 58.2 percent of students are coming in for personal counseling, 11.1 percept for career counseling and 9.5 percent for academic counseling. Considering that the counseling department allows walk- ins, these statistics barely scratch the surface of the actual number of students suffering from depression. “ It’ s all just gloom y,” said Brianna K n ip e, a C C C stu d en t w ho has experienced SAD. “ I used to get tired in the day more often and I would do worse in school; my grades would get lower. I just felt like I wanted to drop out.” M any other factors that affects seasonal depression, said Debra Penkin, an instructor at Warner Pacific University with years of experience as a social worker. “ W hen working with clients that had SAD, there was always an emotional experience, whether that be abuse, family issues, or even discrimination that triggered their depression when isolated in their homes during the fall and winter season.” CCC provides many resources to fight depression. Partnering with U L ifelin e, an organization that helps support students m ental health on campus, where students can fill out an evaluation on their website for themselves or a friend, and the site gives tips to fight whatever the experience may be. The website also provides many resources such as the suicide prevention hotline and listings of the many local organizations that can help with treatment. And of course CCC has the counseling department open, free o f charge, to anybody looking to find a way out of SAD. CCC counseling can also put students on the path to a long-term and more perm anent so lutio n, like ongoing therapy. Guidance counseling is available from 9 a.m .-4 p.m . Monday through Friday and can be reached on campus, by email (counseling@ clackam as.edu), or by phone at 503-594-3176. Students can go to myClackamas and under “ Student Resources” you will find “ CCC Counselor Appointm ent Requests” to set up an appointment. 1-800-273-TALK www.suicidepreventionlifeitne.org The suicide hotline provides assistence for those in crisis. More Information: Counseling at Harmony Campus noon - 5 p.m . http://www.clackamas.edu/campus-life/ student-services/counseling ULifeline: http://www.ulifeline.org/ clackamas EOU PORTLAND eou.edu/portland | cfinholt@ eou.edu | 503.594.0962 Gome see me today on the Clackamas campus! Free unofficial transcript review photo by Sam Weston It w ill usually be a significant depression where students have thought about suicide, not necessarily to act on it, but the idea had crossed their mind. So, it ’sa pretty serious problem in o u r school a n d you can bet that a t least 25 percent o f our student body have experienced this.” -S tephanie Schaefer I Clackamas Print ------------------------------------------------------- Learn about Fast Track Transfer' Create your educational plan to EOU C h risti F in h o lt | R e g io n a l A d v is o r P a rtn e rin g w ith C la ck a m a s C o m m u n ity College H arm on y C e n te r I 7738 SE H arm on y R o a d ’-’ P o rtla n d , O re g o n 97222 ■ t h e c la c k a m a s p f in t .n e t February 28, 2018
