Anyone can fall prey to depression. It is a global problem whose description is found even in some ancient scriptures. The word depression has become so common in our vocabulary that common people do not consider it as a disorder. However, this is a dangerous trend.

Depression is an ever-present disorder. According to the reports of World Health Organization, of all illnesses, depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide. Experts point out that, depression, apart from being a disorder, can even be a symptom of fatal illness. One medically suffering from depression faces decline in physical strength, thinking power, appetite, sleep, speech and psychomotor activity, disturbance in psychic strength etc.

Depression and anxiety are prevalent problems among school and college students. With Board exams at the doorstep, the chances of depression are high. A major cause of stress among students is inherent in our educational culture itself which doesn't encourage recreational activities. Moreover, the unrealistic expectations of parents and pressure from school, which gives no value to the diversity in the calibres of individuals, worsens the situation.

A society that determines the worth of students from their academic scores increases the tension. The hectic load from school, along with that from coaching classes to which most Indian students are forced to join, systematically works towards harming their mental health.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America points out that during college the students experiences many firsts. If they are not prepared to cope with those surprises, they can become easily susceptible to depression and anxiety. This medical condition among students can adversely affect his/her abilities to study, work, interact with peers or take care of themselves and is characterised by difficulty in sleeping, appetite changes, withdrawal from activities once enjoyed, feeling of sadness, hopelessness, unhappiness or even thoughts of suicide in extreme cases.

Are counselors of help?

One of the best options that is scientifically recommended for students suffering from depression is to consult their school or college counselor. But wrong choices in this regard can lead to aggravating the problem. Counselling is not just about listening to the symptoms and prescribing a cure. It essentially involves gaining the trust of the student and finding the root cause of his or her problems. Therefore, the result of the same varies from individual to individual.

Sometimes, the aid of a so-called professional can even be totally ineffective. A parent whose daughter suffered from chronic depression during her Class XII board exams testifies that opting to meet the school counselor was the worst decision they had taken. The mom says that the counselor tried to motivate her with typical failure stories of Sachin Tendulkar and Bill Gates to which her daughter reverted by asking practical questions about her own future, thus being more thoughtful. This send her to a much more depressed state of mind, she laments.

Meeting the school counselor, even if the person is capable, also becomes difficult with the tendency of teachers and peers to look down upon students who reach for aid as the ones suffering from learning disabilities or mental disorders.

Academic pressures and career compulsions drive many students to commit suicide. This is often related to unattended cases of mental disorders. The major problem that acts as barriers to seeking treatment for depression is the lack of awareness about the intensity of the problem on one end and the stigma associated with mental illness on the other.

Role of family and friends

Usually the depressed people develop an inferior feeling and find difficulty in fitting in to those group they otherwise felt comfortable in. Near and dear ones will easily be able to identify this sudden shift. At such a point best defence mechanism is to give maximum mental support and relieve them from the burden of expectation. Family and friends can influence here to a great deal. But in typical Indian homes with the tendency to accuse his or her friends for all the problems that his or her son or daughter has met with, the door to natural recovery aided by friendship usually gets shut.

Another important factor that is rarely discussed about the depression is the strain it can create on relationships, especially friendships. Akshara (name changed), a 22-year-old who had to go through different episodes of depression since childhood, recollects that every time she went through this mental turmoil she felt like a burden when she was around people close to her, though realistically no one was rejecting her friendship.

The struggle to repair a friendship damaged by depression is frustratingly common. It's often an added and ongoing challenge. For the depressed person, friendships can be a strain though it remains the best therapy for it.

The daily life of depressed people and those who deal with depressed people can be dramatic. Most people, having lost their patience, by then usually prefers to end the relationship and part ways considering their relationship to be a crumpled paper. But crumpled paper if ever thought as valuable still leaves the scope of ironing out.