Depression at Uni

Hello,
I am a 19 year old student studying at University. I am very far away from my family and although they ring me nearly every day to make sure I’m okay I want nothing more than to drop out of my course and go back home. I have only just started my second year but already I find getting out of bed in the morning to be a challenge and I am completely demotivated to do anything anymore.
Everything was great last year, I had a wonderful boyfriend, a lot of friends and I did really well in my first year. However, over the summer a lot of things happened that have deeply affected me. I was diagnosed with depression a month ago but so far there has been no improvement and things are getting worse now that I am back at university. I don’t know how to go on with my life and every day I feel that I don’t want to be here. I hate myself and feel worthless. How can I cope with this and move on with my life?

Hi ToffeeBomb,

I had very similar problems when I was in college. Being away from a support (family) can be a really difficult thing to do when you are far away. I'm glad to hear that you still talk to them on a regular basis. I know from where I from the colleges have councilors that students can talk too. It usually does not cost any extra since it is included in the tuition. If this is not the case, and if you can, you might want to look into therapy in your area.

It can take time to start feeling better with depression. Remember that an illness such us these do not have a set time of recover like many physical illnesses. If you feel that you are not getting better than you need to talk to who prescribed you your treatment. If you can get all your treatments locally where you are currently at now it would be for the best.

While at this moment things may seem like everything is going wrong. Remember that you are worth it. No matter what happens to you YOU ARE WORTH IT!

hi ToffeeBomb
I am sorry that you are not feeling good. Medication does take a few weeks to work, and if it doesn't then going back to the Dr. for either an increased dosage or a different medication would be best. as identifying the the correct medication for you is a matter of trial and error.
Have you tried therapy? The medical health service at the University should be able to help you with that.
There would be a branch of MIND in Nottingham where you could meet other service users and get free counseling. I hope and pray you feel much better soon. God bless and best wishes from your friend Francis

Hi Toffee,

It helps to understand what's going on in your head and why you're feeling the way you do. This might help:

http://egg.bu.edu/~youssef/SNAP_CLUB...0164151576.pdf

You might want to also pick out a couple of things that are known to help depression and are great for your health anyway (like exercise, improving your diet, meditation) and seeing if that helps. It usually does!

- vital