3
BY LUIS CORREA.
SAD dampens the mood
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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
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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
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February 28, 2018