Abbey Giglio & Natalie Allen
ROME, GA—Some Berry College students struggle with depression and anxiety issues as well as a stigma that so often surrounds mental illness.
Due to the sensitive nature of this topic, one Berry College sophomore only wanted her first name mentioned in this article. Megan suffers from depression and anxiety. Her hardest obstacle has been developing an identity again.
“It’s been extremely difficult to go on with life and find a purpose when it just seems empty,” Megan said. “Thankfully I’ve found new passions and reasons to push forward and stay positive.”
Megan highlighted the flaws in how mental illness is perceived in society today.
“Yes, mental illness is definitely something that should be discussed.” Megan said. “However, I think it’s even more important to discuss it in a certain way.”
“Our society should stop referring to people with mental illnesses as having a disease and actually see this aspect of the person as who they are. One of the reasons why people feel so bad about their ‘illness’ is because they are told that the way they feel is different than the norm.”
Studies show that the issue of mental illness and its stigma is increasing on college campuses. Stigma is defined as a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person. According to the Association for University and College Counseling Center Director’s survey, 95 percent of college counseling center directors surveyed said the number of students with significant psychological problems is a growing concern in their center or on campus. Berry’s campus is no different as it has students struggling with many different mental illnesses as well.
Megan is not the only one who feels differentiated because of her mental illness. Saif Sarfani, a freshman at Berry, has been struggling with depression the whole time he has been at Berry.
“I feel like I’ve been ostracized by a lot of my friends,” Sarfani said. “Depression makes me feel very alone. No matter what, I’m still going to be alone even when I have friends or family who are trying to help.”
Depression has also affected his motivation in the classroom and at his jobs. Balancing everything that college throws at him is very difficult to handle.
Sarfani emphasized the importance of education and understanding.
“So that individuals who do not have depression can get a better understanding of what it really is and so that those who are depressed can get help and relief,” said Sarfani.
According to The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), one in four young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 have a diagnosable mental illness and 75 percent of lifetime cases of mental health conditions begin by age 24. That number is fairly high, and if a student has reached college, it does not mean that the student is “in the clear” for being diagnosed with or developing a mental illness.
Melissa Sanchez, a sophomore, suffers from depression, and she also finds keeping up with college extremely difficult.
“Sometimes there are days where everything seems so pointless in the grand scheme of life,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez said her depression affects not only her, but also her friends, heavily.
“It affects the closest people to me because they feel like they should be doing things to help and they can’t,” she said. “My closest friends feel a lot of guilt regarding my depression and not being able to prevent my self-harm,” Sanchez said.
According to a survey by Cornell and Princeton University researchers, about 17 percent of all college students have either cut, burned, carved or harmed themselves in other ways.
In an American College Health Association report released in 2011, students cited depression and anxiety as the top impediments to academic performance. 31 percent of college students have felt so depressed in the past year that it was difficult to function. More than 50 percent have felt overwhelming anxiety, making it hard to succeed academically.
Depression and anxiety are not the only two mental illnesses on Berry’s campus. Emilee Burroughs, a sophomore, has been dealing with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) since she was in 7th grade. She has found a way to manage it over the years but it still affects all of her relationships.
“OCD has shown me who my true friends are. I’ve had a lot of support through the years and I still do. My closest friends know a lot about it and they’re very helpful whenever I’m having a low point,” Burroughs said.
Burroughs said her hardest obstacle in dealing with OCD was learning to accept the diagnosis. She chose to accept that she has flaws, and that OCD doesn’t make her any less of a person. She had to think of OCD as a simple imperfection that is not better or worse than any other human imperfection.
“I think acceptance is key in moving forward. I had to accept that this is a part of me, and that’s ok,” Burroughs said.
When asked why mental illness should be discussed more openly Burroughs, like Sarfani, mentioned the importance of education and understanding.
“Mental illness needs to be more openly discussed so people can have a better understanding of what it is in order to help those around them who are struggling with one,” Burroughs said.
Education seems to be a recurring suggestion for dealing with the stigma surrounding mental illness. According to NAMI’s website, stigma is the number one reason students do not seek help for their mental illness. So what is Berry doing to support its students who suffer from mental illness and to combat the stigma that surrounds mental illness?
First, one has to recognize and accept the stigma surrounding mental illness. Alex Sorohan, a Berry junior and Peer Educator, spoke about this stigma on Berry’s campus.
“If there’s a stigma, then no one’s willing to listen to how we should raise up the people suffering from mental illness,” she said. “You can’t reach people with the education they need unless stigma is gone. Breaking down that stigma is one of the most important parts,” Sorohan said.
Then, one must combat the stigma.
“So we come at it from all points of view: how to prevent it, what to do once you are experiencing it and how to help someone you know that is experiencing it,” Sorohan said.
So the Peer Educators approach mental illness from a prevention, coping, and helping approach, which can reach all students regardless of their relationship to mental illness.
The Peer Educators are able to fight stigma through all of their events, but Sorohan said the Pot Thoughts are most powerful in doing so.
“We try and fight the issue of stigma because it’s detrimental to everyone in the process with mental illness,” Sorohan said. “And the way we reach people with that stigma-type of outlook is through the Pot Thoughts because it’s non-confrontational, it’s not in their face, and it’s not someone trying to talk to them. They can just read the information and learn from it.”
All of the students with mental illnesses who were mentioned, except Melissa, are either taking medication or receiving counseling, or a combination of both, for their mental illness. Berry students should join with their fellow peer, who have a mental illness and the Peer Educators, in order to further combat the stigma surrounding mental illness. By doing this, the students at Berry College who struggle with mental illness will get the support they need in order to fight a stronger battle.