One of the most common psychological problems is depression. In America, over 17 million people every year experience a period of clinical depression. Depression, therefore, affects almost everyone through personal experience in a family, friend, classmate, or even workmate. Psychologists consider depression as that condition that changes the thinking and feeling of an individual, therefore, affecting their social behavior and the sense of psychological well being (Fava, 2003). Depression is capable of interfering with normal functioning of the human brain and can frequently cause problems that are concerning work, academics, social and family life. Depression causes pain and sufferings to those who have the disorder as well as those who provide care to the victims of depression. Severe depression has enormous impacts on the academic performance of the student, social life setting, and even the life of the victim. Depression can affect everyone, but in most cases, women are more vulnerable because of women-related activities like reproduction, hormonal imbalance, genetics, or other biological reasons. Students also have been victims of depression especially when it comes to academic-related activities. This paper will focus on the impact of depression on the students learning.
In this 21st century, the number of students experiencing depression is increasing as they try to combine the demands of academics and demanding daily activities. Students form a significant future investment that will help in running the country in years to come. This means that their psychological well being now has impacts that are more significant in the coming days. Students are receiving more stress when it comes to studies because academics are increasingly demanding, different environment, and even changes in the social and family life. According to health professionals, depression makes the students sad and hopeless in life, therefore, affecting their ability to perform well in academics (Hammen, 1980). In most cases depression can happen in two forms, there is short-term depression and long-term depression. Short-term depression occurs when the student experiences depression for a short period where the student feels low for some time but able to study and take care of other daily activities. Long-term depression, on the other hand, has more significant effects because it creates psychological illness, therefore, affecting the ability of the student to learn and accomplish daily activities.
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Causes of depression in students and impact on learning
Many reasons cause depression to learners. Some of the significant reasons include stressful academic life, drugs, family issues, financial problems and in some cases separation from the family. Fear of academic failure is also another main reason that put the students to the state of depression (Eisenberg, 2007). Fear of getting low marks subjects the learners to extreme psychological pressure because they have to struggle much harder so that they can score higher marks. The intense pressure and struggle exposes the students to depression because they have to struggle for them not to get low marks. The issue of low scores will also reduce the self-esteem of the students because it makes them look stupid among other students. This is also another contributing factor to the depression in students however sometimes can lead to positive results because the student will have to study harder so that they become the best among the other resulting to good academic performance.
The inability of some of the learners to balance time for academic and daily activities causes them to suffer from depression. Due to this reason, many students have to handle excessive workloads that involve examinations and other academic obstacles forcing the students to stay awake up to late night costing them their leisure time. When the learners spent most of their time doing studies and doing other daily activities, they become tired, and the level of concentration can drop. This state makes the learners unable to concentrate in class, therefore, affecting their ability to learn effectively. Consequently, the learners become overwhelmed turning them into a stressful situation and even activities. Financial hardship is another factor that causes depression to the students because they have to struggle to get money for tuition fees and personal upkeep. In most cases, the students have to depend on loans to get sufficient finance to run their academic and personal needs.
The issue of loaning money from other sources may cause stress to the learner because they have to repay the debt after some time with some interest on top of it. The issue of liability can then subjects the student to a lot of stress (Archuleta, 2013). With the rising cost of living, many students may decide to drop out of schools because of financial issues making them vulnerable to depression. Some of the students do not have parents or guardians who can support them financially forcing them to depend upon themselves. If the students can have access to enough grace period that can help them to pay back the loan, their ability to concentrate will increase significantly because the level of stress concerning debt will be low.
Increasing complexities in the worlds of academics is another possible reason that causes depression among the students. Currently, academics are becoming more complex and demanding, therefore, increasing the pressure to the learners hence depression (Reyes-Rodríguez, 2013). The students have to struggle more to meet their academic expectations. The ever-reducing job opportunities contribute to the issue of depression to the learners because they are not sure of getting the dream jobs they would wish to have in their future. The state of hopelessness then forces the students to have the stress of whether they will get their dream job or they will remain jobless after studying for several years in school.
During the learning process, most of the learners have to separate from their parents and the entire family. This state of isolation subjects the student to psychological stress causing depression to the students. Staying away from the family may affect the students academically because they have to struggle in handling the pressure and at the same time, they have to deliver academically (Cacioppo, 2009). If the students have the opportunity to live with their families while learning, they can be able to perform better because they will not experience stress that is concerning isolation. Most forms of stress affect the ability of the learners to study well forcing making them not to perform to their level best.
Signs of depression in learners
Some signs and symptoms show that student is suffering from depression. In most cases, students with depression have higher risks of developing problems to do with drug abuse or participation in risky sexual behaviors to cope with emotional pain. Use of drugs for instance alcohol is one of the signs where the student decides to opt for drug abuse so that they can be able to manage the level of stress. Most of the people believe that using alcohol will reduce the stress level of an individual (MacBeth, 2012). In that connection, the students will indulge in using drugs so that they can be able to manage the stress level, but in reality, the use of drugs worsen the situation because it may lead to addiction and can even cause some drug-related diseases. Other signs include having negative thoughts that include committing suicide.
Learner having negative thoughts, for instance, committing suicide is another show that the student is under depression and they consider their lives unworthy. In the United States of America, suicide is the second leading cause of death among youths within the bracket of 15-34 years old. Depression is one of the main reasons why the youths commit suicide. When the student begins to lose value of their lives, it is a good show that they are suffering from depression, and there is a need for carrying out counseling so that the student avoid doing things that can harm their life or even other people whom they have a connection with for example the family members and even teachers.
Poor performance or depreciating student performance to some point has a connection with some form of stress. When the student is under pressure or depression, they are unable to study well, therefore, affecting their performance negatively. It is also possible that the student is bright at the beginning, but after going through challenging experiences, they suffer from depression making them unable to have ample time to study. The results of the events are performance drop of the students because they cannot study well the way they use to study before undergoing the stressing. For the students to perform well, they should be studying in a pleasant environment with minimal or no stress because stress has a significant implication on the ability of the students to achieve.
Diagnosis of depression among the learners
Diagnosis and treatment of depression are vital not only for the health of the student but also for better performance. Academic institutions are an environment full of stress for most of the learners, and it is, therefore, crucial for the parents, teachers, and even counselors to play their role in identifying the students who are suffering from the depression (Mitchell, 2009). Learners in most cases are not willing to seek help when they are suffering from depression because of issues related to stigma. Evaluating the student’s mental health is essential because it helps in identifying the student who is suffering from mental stress. The evaluation involves assessing the student's school performance, developmental and family history and any self-injuring behaviors that the student might be having. This process is essential because it helps in evaluating the student state of mind before administering the treatment plan.
Treatment of depression
In most cases, the learning institution provides the students with the medication that helps in overcoming the psychological stress. The commonly effective treatment methods for depression include psychotherapy and use of antidepressants. It is also possible to combine the two treatment methods that are psychotherapy and use of antidepressants for better outcomes. Antidepressants is a treatment method that works on neurotransmitters that alter the way brain works and bring about balance in the mood of an individual. The use of chemical will help the student in establishing the right attitude and assist in reducing the level of stress enabling the student to study well and performs better. One should be cautious when using this method of treatment because its outcome is quite unpredictable.
Psychotherapy is another conventional method of treatment for depression because of its exemplary outcome. The psychotherapy is one of the active treatment methods for stress and depression because it helps in changing the psychology of an individual and help in permanently removing negative thoughts (Norcross, 2005). Psychotherapy is achievable in two ways one is Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and the other being Interpersonal Therapy (IT). Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is essential in helping the depression victims change their thinking process. The treatment involves several sessions that transforms the way an individual thinks hence removing the person form the state of depression. Interpersonal Therapy (IT) treatment method, on the other hand, is generally in use when addressing cases that are more serious for instance in conflicting relationships and serious personal problems.
Depression prevent in learners
It is also essential to prevent the mental illness instead of waiting for it to develop. Some of the educational institutions play a crucial role in ensuring that they identify the students and enable them undergoes counseling against depression helping them to overcome the stress (Gilroy, 2002). The institution can also assist in determining the victims and ensure the provision of early treatment, therefore, ensuring excellent results. Conducting workshops and seminars are some of the prevention methods essential in identifying learners who may be suffering from depression. If learners have a mental illness, then they receive the appropriate treatment to lower the stress levels. It is also vital for the institution to have counseling centers because the facilities help in tracking the thinking process of the students. When there is a psychological problem in one of the students, implementation of psychotherapy is essential because it helps in preventing other negative things for instance suicide thoughts that are concerning depression (Mowbray, 2006).
Conclusion
In conclusion, stress and depression are rampant in the student's community. This is because of the factors like academic pressure, financial issues, and even environmental changes. The effect of depression on the students includes the drop in performance and even sometimes suicide when the stress goes beyond the manageable levels. In most cases, depression victims undergo treatment in two methods one is through psychotherapy and use of antidepressants. It is also advisable to combine the two ways whenever the situation is serious. Mental illnesses are some of the dangerous diseases that demand support and proper mentoring as early as possible and in an appropriate manner. The learning institution should, provide a competent and friendly environment for the student to cope and adapt it instead of them suffering from depression and other psychological problems. It will also be important if the health education programs and mentoring forms part of the curriculum because it is vital to the psychological well being of the learners. It is also essential to pay more attention to the teaching methods and processes of the learning institution because it might be the leading causes of depression to the students in schools.
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