Why College Is Making Me Depressed and What Can I Do About It?

College depression is a rising problem among students. Psychologists believe that this widespread issue is often the reason for many students committing suicide. Thousands of students every year go through this phase where they feel lonely, sad, anxious, isolated, and overwhelmed all at the same. Although the reasons may be different, mental health experts think that it has mostly to do with the fear that they would not fare well in their exams and would not get a good job after leaving school.

A few facts about college depression

The intense feelings that you are going through may persist for a long time, and they might have severe consequences to your physical, emotional, and mental health. According to a 2018 survey involving college and university students in the US, over 39% of students mentioned that they feel depressed because of the vast syllabus that they need to cover throughout the year. Among the 39% students, 67.3% feel intense sadness, 86.5% feel overwhelmed, 51.7% feel hopelessness, and 60.9% feel overwhelming anxiety. All these are related to their learning experience, and sometimes family problems also add to their depression.

Reasons for college depression

There can be many reasons why college depression may hit you harder than you expect. Professors in college will always burden you with multiple assignments and homework, but if you are already under deep depression, even a small task will seem to be overwhelming. Following are some of the reasons why students may be depressed in college:

1. Too many assignments

The most significant cause of depression in college students is the volume of assignments they need to finish. With limited time, this often becomes a gigantic task for many. You may be an excellent student, but the regular homework will slowly wear you down after a while. This leads to depression because you are not able to prove yourself to the professors anymore.

As the homework piles up, you can hardly make time for anything else. Your life gets limited to going to school and coming back home, only to find yourself dealing with your assignments. The monotonous life becomes boring, and you start feeling lonely. This isolation can lead to the development of many bad habits. Many students start drinking or taking weed or even drugs.

What to do: college assignments are unavoidable. Your final scores depend on the completion of these assignments, and your professors will mark you based on that. An ideal way to deal with multiple assignments is by starting on the hardest topic first. Go through similar questions that are already discussed in the book to find the answers.

So, if you feel physics is the toughest, start with that subject. Once you complete the homework, you will be relieved. This will make you enthusiastic about finishing the easier subjects quickly. Also, make a weekly routine. Dedicate each subject for one day of the week and make sure you complete its respective homework on that day.

2. All homework and no play

If you’re part of the varsity team but don’t get enough opportunities to play ball anymore, it can be a significant cause of depression. Students who are fond of sports know how difficult it is to stay away from them. The routine of college and homework hardly leaves any time for practice. But don’t be disheartened just yet. There are ways to tackle this problem too.

What to do: Balancing sports time and college may be tricky, but you need to identify the subjects you are good at. Many professors also offer free periods occasionally that you can make the most of. You can reach school early to finish your homework because you may get tired after coming back from a practice session. That is not the best time to start with an assignment because you will feel sleepy.

Follow the weekly routine as already mentioned, and complete the homework in your college library. You may also seek help from your professors on topics that you don’t understand. Your eagerness to learn will create a good impression on your teachers. More importantly, this helps you develop good study habits despite being a student-athlete.

3. You miss home

Many students travel to a different state to study in college, and they have to stay there throughout the year because travel expenses are high. If you too are in that group of students, then coping with this depression may be tough. You may be attached to your parents and your brothers and sisters, and there is no sadness equal to missing your home. However, this type of depression may affect your studies too. But understand that you have traveled so far for a better career.

What to do: One of the best ways to stop missing your home is video calls. Thanks to multiple video calling software applications, you can now see your family members whenever you miss them. Make sure you teach your mom and dad how to use video calls so you get to talk and see one another from time to time. This is a simple way of avoiding homesickness and getting ample support from the people you love most.

4. You can’t attend parties because of homework

As you start making friends in college, you will notice there are house parties every weekend or every month. You may miss a few parties, but as you start missing more, everyone will stop inviting you. It is not like you are avoiding parties because you don’t like them. The enormous amount of homework is keeping you away from these parties. Since socializing can be beneficial too, you shouldn’t restrict yourself to studies only because after a few months, you will feel isolated from your group of friends.

What to do: Prioritizing studies should be your first aim, and you can divide your assignments into small sections to complete them faster. For example, if you have plenty of math exercises you need to finish, divide it into four parts, and finish one at school during free periods, and the rest at home. Time management is crucial if you want to attend the party later at night.

If homework is the root cause of your college depression, remember that you can always lean on online assignment help. You don’t have to punish yourself just to tick off all of your assignments one by one. By getting guidance from real experts on the subjects you’re dealing with, you can complete your assignments on time and ensure that you understand your lessons, too. Don’t hesitate to reach out to Assignment Expert to find the best professional to complete your homework, giving you ample time to take a break and free your mind from all your school woes.