During finals week each quarter, more than 4,000 UCLA students strip down to near nakedness and run the length of Bruin Walk, screaming to relieve the stress of college and tests.
But some students may be unable to release the anxiety and pressures of the academic, social and financial aspects of college life on a daily basis.
An increasing number of students face extreme stress and depression, which can be dangerous without treatment and support, said Andrew Leuchter, director of the UCLA Laboratory of Brain, Behavior and Pharmacology.
Psychological illnesses such as depression, anxiety, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder often appear during the college years, Leuchter said.
“The 18 to 25 age range is a period of great change in life when these illnesses, especially depression, is very common,” he said.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, people suffering from depression exhibit at least five of the following symptoms for two weeks or longer: sadness and anxiety, decreased energy, loss of interest in usual activities, sleep disturbances, appetite and weight changes, suicidal thoughts, difficulty concentrating, excessive crying, and chronic aches and pains.
Leuchter said depression symptoms are different for every person and cannot be attributed to a single cause.
“Usually, the factors causing depression are a combination of genetics and environment,” he added.
Among such environmental factors contributing to depression in college-aged students are stressful life situations, sleep deprivation and substance abuse, Leuchter said.
Stress within the social and academic sphere is common since college is often the first time most students are away from home, Leuchter said.
“New romantic relationships may not go smoothly,” Leuchter said. “Also, the academic course load is heavy and demands a lot of work.”
The quarter system itself can also be a problem for people coming from lives that have slower paces, said Elizabeth Gong-Guy, the director of UCLA Student Psychological Services.
“College is so much more demanding and fast-paced,” Gong-Guy said. “It’s a sprint to the finish.”
Such was the case for Hung Nguyen, a fourth-year psychobiology student, during fall quarter of his freshman year at UCLA.
“I always felt like I wasn’t ready for college, like I should have taken a year off before starting college,” Nguyen said. “Life wasn’t enjoyable and I felt more fatigued and more apathetic toward life.
“To deal with the stress of college, I started smoking,” he said. “Smoking cleared my mind. It was like I could put my hectic life on hold for a bit so I can have some time to myself.”
While Nguyen’s source of relief was cigarettes, other students develop a reliance on other drugs to create a comfortable environment out of a seemingly hostile one, which can be problematic because alcohol and substance abuse can worsen the state of depression, Leuchter said.
Instead of turning to alcohol and drugs, some students are able to find positive outlets, such as social support, to help them through depression, said Maria Heim, the communications coordinator of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance.
“The majority of calls we get are from family and friends,” Heim said. “Others are the first to recognize the possibility of depression, so they empower themselves to help their loved ones.”
Most students are hesitant to reach out for help because of the stigma and misconception that a mental illness is a sign of weakness, Leuchter said.
“There’s the age-old notion that (psychological illnesses are) a character flaw, but they’re no different from medical illnesses like diabetes,” Leuchter said. “There are treatments, so people shouldn’t have to fight it alone.”
As the amount of college students with clinically diagnosed depression has increased tremendously from 20 years ago, greater understanding exists, Gong-Guy said.
Though episodes of depression are highly prevalent among college-aged students, it is not necessarily bad news because “the medication is better and students suffering from depression are identified earlier in life, (allowing) more of them (to) make it to college, and that’s a good thing,” Leuchter said.