How to cope with depression while you’re in college.
Vulnerability Alert: I will be very candid in this blog post, so get ready for some real talk.
I’ve been wanting to sit down & talk about this for a while, but I didn’t know how to write about my feelings. I often wonder if what I share is too much, so I stick to writing things I feel like are surface-level enough to keep my privacy while also sharing parts of myself that allow others to relate to my vulnerability.
But… we’re not here to talk about my blogging preferences, we’re here to talk about something that a lot of college students go through: depression.
Having depression in college not a glamorous subject, and it’s surely not what I typically post about. But hopefully sharing my story and journey with depression will help anyone who’s currently struggling with it today and in the future.
So, let’s talk about it.
My Journey with Depression
When I first matriculated to Howard, it was 2020, and I was so excited to go to my dream school. Of course, Covid-19 thwarted those plans, but once August 2021 came, I was so excited to finally meet everyone I had met online and even meet some new friends. For the first month, my life was perfect. I had the perfect friend group, the boy, and I had the blog that was becoming more and more successful.
I was finally living my Howard University dream.
But then things—and people—started to fall off. First it was one friend, then another and another. I spent my winter break evaluating myself and a lot of other things. Losing those two or three “friends” was beneficial to my growth, my safety, and my peace.
I was so ready to move on. At least I thought so.
But when the boy and another friend fell off, eventually I was lying in my dorm room alone that next semester wondering where things went wrong. It felt like the world was against me, and an all-consuming feeling of anger, sadness, and eventually depression came over me. I wasn’t happy anymore like I was in August 2021, and my life was far from perfect. Looking at photos from that time in my life made me realize I had watched my circle crumble right before me.
I was empty inside because I had given so much of myself freely to others and rarely received anything in return that when they left me, I felt like they stole a piece of me.
I didn’t want to do anything but lie in my dorm, sink into my covers, and be depressed. Being a full-time college student didn’t allow me to be depressed and constantly in bed, though. I was supposed to be networking, writing essays, and being social. I couldn’t afford to battle this beast.
At least not on my own.
But eventually, my days got better and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
With the help of my current friends, my amazing mom, and some inner help (like affirmations), I could battle this thing called depression day by day.
And although it’s an everyday battle, I want to remind you all that it’s a battle that you can conquer. Here are some tips on how to combat depression while you’re in college.
Find Healing in Your Community or in a Belief
Without this, I wouldn’t know where I would be.
If you have a group of people, whether that be your college friends, coworkers, family, an online group you trust, or a religious community, find healing in them. Having someone you can express your feelings to is so important. It’s even more important to have people in your circle who validate your emotions, support you at your lowest, and give you sound advice.
I can’t count how many times my friends have helped me laugh through the pain at the very least.
And if you’re religious, reading up on your preferred text and praying may also help you get through these times.
Seek Outside Help
Let’s get one thing clear. If you take medication or seek therapy or counseling, you are not crazy.
Seeking outside and professional help is 100% okay. You can get a clearer look into what causes your depression and how to treat it. If you have a counseling center at your school, utilize it! (And if not or if it’s just not reliable, seek help outside of your school through telehealth or in person sessions).
Prioritize Your Tasks and Your Day
Take it from me. If you don’t at least plan out a few tasks for each day, you’ll be huddled up in your bed all day feeling bad that you’ve done nothing.
Simple joys, like installing an aesthetic planner on my phone or tablet, helped me prioritize tasks for my classes and other projects. Seeing everything I needed to do for the day made me feel overwhelmed, but it helped clear my mind of the clutter, and was the first step to handling my depression.
Establish Boundaries
This is so important for bettering your mental health and coping with depression. Often, we associate our depression with feeling worthless or guilty about a situation and creating boundaries for yourself and others allows you to reverse that cycle of emotions.
In an age where everything is instant and we, as college students, feel like we have to enjoy each passing moment, it’s okay to take a step back and establish rules for yourself and others. It’s okay to feel the motions of your sadness, but don’t allow someone else to weaponize your sadness.
Establish those boundaries now.
Small Reminders + Tips
- Avoid using alcohol: hangovers are not good for depression. It may seem good at the moment, but alcohol is a depressant, so you’ll likely feel worse the morning after.
- Exercise: Even a walk around your dorm can do wonders
- Practice being mindful: be in the moment and use your senses to the fullest.
- Find a comfort show or a comfort artist: I loved watching Grey’s Anatomy during my depressive episodes because it distracted me (and it was a good TV drama). If you like music, listening to artists who comfort you can help too.
- Most importantly, remember you’ll get through this. In your journey of dealing with depression, you’ll find your own little secrets and tricks to help you cope safely. Take it one day at a time, though.
Before I sign off, I want to share something from my friend Sydney that helped me through this unsteady time in my life.
Dealing with depression (especially in college) is never easy. It’s an up and down journey. It’s messy, upsetting, and all-around draining. Depression sucks, but hopefully with these tips and reminders, you can cope with it day by day.
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love this
thank you sm!!