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Article by Carmen Rios-Nu\u00f1ez, December 16, 2016<\/p>\n
The number of college students seeking mental health support has increased exponentially since 2009, according to a 2014 article by the American Psychological Association.<\/a><\/p>\n Hunter students who believe they may be struggling with mental health issues can find help right on campus, said Ariella Soffer, Ph.D, an intake coordinator at Hunter’s Counseling and Wellness Services<\/a>. Students can speak to a mental health professional about their problems or concerns about such issues as anxiety, poor self-esteem and feelings of depression. According to the department\u2019s welcome sheet, the \u201ccounselors help students identify and address problematic thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to help them understand themselves, develop greater awareness and insight into the cause of personal difficulties, and help develop resilience by improving problem-solving and coping skills.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI believe CWS is a valuable resource to Hunter students because we address and attend to the nonacademic issues that can and do have a significant impact on the personal and academic success of our student body,\u201d Soffer said in an email. \u201cAssessment of our services demonstrates that we do so effectively and successfully, so we invite students to take advantage of this resource.\u201d<\/p>\n Data compiled by Soffer and her peers revealed that approximately 63 percent of students assessed by a clinician exhibit signs of depression, a serious mood disorder. It can cause severe symptoms that affect how a student feels, thinks and handles daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, or working. According to a National Data on Campus Suicide and Depression<\/a> by Neumann University, depression affects more than 19 million American adults 18 and older each year, and is responsible for more than an estimated 60 percent of suicides.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t want to go to school,\u201d and she experienced feelings of depression when she was 15 to 17 years old, said Katherine Hernandez, 22, a senior majoring in creative writing. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to make friends. You\u2019re not sociable. You just kind of want to be in a corner by yourself and you\u2019re waiting for the clock to get ready to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n Wearing a black beanie hat and vest, blue jeans, and brown leather boots in a North Building\u2019s classroom, Hernandez said that she took Aripiprazole, also known as abilify, when she was a teenager. It is a medication that works in the brain and treats schizophrenia, a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves.<\/span> She stopped taking it because it made her feel drowsy and unlike herself.<\/p>\n Aripiprazole works by re-balancing dopamine and serotonin to improve thinking, mood, and behavior, according to the National Alliance of Mental Illness<\/a>. For Hernadez, therapy, which she underwent on and off from the time she was about 14 years old until she was 21, helped her overcome depression. She said that she had considered visiting a mental health counselor at Hunter, but didn\u2019t because she was unsure that the school would keep her information private.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s actually really hard to find a decent therapist in New York City, which is why I had considered going to Hunter. Everybody wants somebody to talk to,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cI\u2019m not taking therapy right now, but I have my moments when I wish I did have it again.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the CWS website<\/a>, a student\u2019s counseling records are not part of their academic record. Some exceptions can include needing to share information in the event of a psychological emergency requiring hospitalization. The website states that the counseling process is confidential and that the student will be informed if exceptions occur.<\/p>\n Mental health related issues have also increased outside of the college. According to a 2016 report by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America<\/a>,\u00a0 major depressive disorder affects more than 15 million American adults in a given year. Mariette Rodriguez, 36, a St. John\u2019s University alumna who graduated with an associate in liberal arts degree in 2002, and is a personal trainer and health coach, said she can remember feeling like something was wrong with her ever since she was 14 years old. She would often feel sad without having any reason to be.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When she was a high school student, Rodriguez said she would stay home from school whenever she felt down, and ultimately decided not to attend her graduation ceremony because she had a falling out with friends and didn\u2019t want to deal with reality. Most of the time she said she wanted to zone out and not face the world. \u201cI went through a really bad funk 10 years ago and that\u2019s when I decided I needed to speak to someone,\u201d she said in a phone interview. \u201cI knew I needed help.\u201d Rodriguez was about 24 years old when the birth of her niece inspired her to see a therapist. Soon after, she was diagnosed with depression.<\/p>\n Her college experience was a rocky one. She was registered as a full-time student, but said she wasn\u2019t dedicated to her studies. \u201cI think my depression definitely played a role in my lack of ambition in college,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cI attended four years and never wanted to attend class.\u201d Rodriguez said she didn\u2019t seek help at the St. John\u2019s University mental health department because she was a member of a sorority group and spent most of her free time with her \u201csisters.\u201d But also said that if a school offers help and a student feels he or she needs it, they should not feel ashamed to seek it.<\/p>\n Hernandez said that her depression is in the past, but it affected her \u201cimmensely\u201d in high school. \u201cIt gets easier to deal with it when you seek help, when you find a good therapist that can talk with you about things and you can really understand why you feel this way,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Rodriguez, too, said that understanding feelings can be helpful, and that it\u2019s \u201cnice to know that there\u2019s a reason for the way I\u2019m feeling and cope with it.\u201d She also credited yoga and meditation as ways to have better days. Rodriguez stressed that she doesn\u2019t like when people tell those suffering from depression to just \u201cshake it off.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want people to feel judged about it,\u201d she said. \u201cThe same way you wouldn\u2019t make fun of someone with cancer, you shouldn\u2019t make fun of someone with depression. If you\u2019re suffering from it, go out and talk to someone. Research it and seek help.\u201d<\/p>\n Hunter students who want to seek help can visit Hunter’s CWS\u00a0 <\/a>located in the East Building, Room 1123, Monday through Friday, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Students can also email CWS any time at PersonalCounseling@hunter.cuny.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI would advise any student who feels tentative about seeking help to call and speak to a counselor about their hesitation and, or worry about their privacy, confidentiality, or other concern which may inhibit their pursuing services,\u201d said Soffer. \u201cI am confident that such a conversation would provide reassurance, clarify misconceptions, and alleviate the concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n Hunter students had strong opinions about the 2016 presidential race.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Carmen Rios-Nu\u00f1ez can be reached at Carmen.Rios66@myhunter.cuny.edu<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The number of college students seeking mental health support has increased exponentially since 2009, according to a 2014 article by the American Psychological Association. Hunter students who believe they may be struggling with mental health issues can find help right on campus, said Ariella Soffer, Ph.D, an intake coordinator at Hunter’s Counseling and Wellness Services. <\/p>\nThe Hunter Experience<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nMariette Rodriguez<\/h3>\n
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