In 2013, 11% of Franciscan students indicated that they were experiencing severe or extremely severe depression (Sammut, 2014). The Franciscan University Counseling Center reported that during the course of the 2007-08 academic year, there were approximately 200 clients totaling 1000 visits with an overarching diagnosis of depression (Sammut, 2014). Meanwhile, the stigma surrounding depression is unfortunately thriving. Students do not want to be seen in the counseling center. Professors assume that when a student takes a "mental health day," he or she is simply being lazy. At Franciscan specifically, people with depression are told to "pray about it," which minimizes the illness as if it is a mere emotion. I invite you to watch the following video to realize how ludicrous these women sound, treating illness as if it is nothing.
One student at Franciscan, Lindsay Veilleux, finds it absolutely necessary to defeat the stigma. This is her story.
"I have been struggling with depression for many years, but it became more severe when I became a student at Franciscan to the point where I had to move back home. So I became a part-time student, enrolled in a couple online classes, and devoted the majority of my time at home to my mental health.
"When I told my friends and roommate that I was going home for the semester, no one understood why. They asked me why I couldn't go to counseling and stay on-campus, if I was even worried about graduating on time or the time I was wasting, and if I even cared about the boyfriend I was leaving behind. I was told that if I prayed more, God would cure my depression and then I would find happiness. I was called lazy, ignorant, and selfish. All I wanted to do was take care of my health, but I left Franciscan with a very bad taste in my mouth. I felt unwelcomed, unwanted, and unloved by the people I thought were my close friends.
"If this stigma was not so prominent on-campus, I would have felt more comfortable remaining at the university for the semester. If I thought my professors would have worked with me, I might have enrolled in classes and tweaked deadlines to help maintain my health. If I thought my friends at Franciscan would have supported me in my fight against depression, I would have remained a full-time student while simultaneously focusing on my mental health. But I felt as if I had no support, even though I previously loved the supportive community at Franciscan. The stigma is a huge turn-off to students who are looking for somewhere to call home, and something needs to be done about it."
So what's next? What action do we take from here? We talk about it. We have open, honest, and hard conversations about depression. We need to treat all students with compassion and empathy, because we never know what someone else is going through.
If other students would like to share their stories in order to fight the stigma, please feel free to comment below, and we will send you an email shortly. Thank you for your help in destroying depression.
We end the stigma, one story at a time.
Works Cited
Beiter, R., R. Nash, M. Mccrady, D. Rhoades, M. Linscomb, M. Clarahan, and S. Sammut. "The prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety, and stress in a sample of college students." Journal of Affective Disorders 173 (2015): 90-96. Web.
DefeatDepression1. "Help Defeat the Stigma of Depression HD." YouTube. YouTube, 27 Mar. 2015. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.
