As the clock strikes 4:50 p.m., you pack up your book bag and breathe a sigh of relief as your last class of the day comes to a close. As you step outside, that sense of blissful freedom slowly turns to anger when you realize it’s eerily dark outside and you haven’t even started your night yet.
This common phenomenon, also known as the winter blues, is slowly creeping up on college campuses nationwide, leaving students feeling lethargic, sad and unproductive. In the 2007-08 academic school year, 411 University students participated in a public survey through the University Counseling and Testing Center, 119 of whom were categorized as having “severe issues,” according to the annual report. In the winter term, students who came into the counseling center showed an increase in thoughts of harming or killing themselves, eating concerns and sleeping issues, the report said.
Chris Esparza, a senior staff therapist and outreach coordinator for the counseling center, said the center experienced an “uptick” in student visits this quarter, but could not with certainty say why. He speculated that it may reflect a higher University student population.
The counseling center has seen 576 students for drop-in sessions this fall, compared to 500 students at this same time last year – a 15 percent increase, Esparza wrote in an e-mail.
Anne Simons, a University psychology professor who studies depression, said people may tell themselves it is normal to be depressed in the winter time, and they begin to give in to the symptoms, Simons said.
“I am not sure students are any more depressed this year than in previous years, but given the economic picture, I could imagine this might be true,” Simons wrote in an e-mail. “On the other hand, I think that the Obama victory gave people a lot of hope about the future.”
Esparza said that because of media input, many people think they should feel particularly cheery during the holidays, which can be especially rough if students don’t get along with their families. If students have friends who are more involved with their families, it can contribute to feelings of jealousy.
Tiffany Brown, a clinical supervisor intern for the University’s Couples and Family Therapy Program, said that although some students find the winter break rejuvenating, many focus on the stress that comes along with the holiday season.
“It can be extremely stressful as they are back under rules and expectations of their parents’ house,” Brown wrote in an e-mail. “While away at school it allows for a great deal of independence and growth that is challenged sometimes when they enter back into the child role in their family.”
Brown added that a hurting economy coupled with families struggling to make ends meet mixed with the Northwest’s weather can add up to a rough winter season.
But Esparza said these common symptoms may not necessarily escalate into Seasonal Affective Disorder, a condition that affects five percent of Americans, according to a November 2007 article from Consumer Reports.
Esparza said students may have SAD if they notice a predictable pattern when seasons change to fall or winter of having low energy, sleeping more and still feeling tired when they wake up.
Oregon Research Institute researcher John Seeley said elevated rates of depression often stem from high expectations and lack of outdoor exercise during particularly cold winters.
“If you do see yourself spiraling down toward the holidays, you have to think, ‘How do you minimize your stress?’” Seeley said. “Often, there are relaxation techniques and just trying to take care of yourself.”
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