What Triggers Depression and Suicidality in College Students?
“There are always a certain number of people who, in their first semester of college, have a breakdown,” said Deborah Rubin, a New York City-based clinical social worker and psychoanalyst. “It’s connected to losing the whole support system that they had—friends, family, the place where they grew up.” Conversely, Rubin said, another stressful life change occurs when students are graduating from college and begin to worry about facing the pressures of living in the “real world” and being truly on their own for the first time. “College can also be a point where people who have had problems all along are unable to cope anymore,” Rubin said. “I have had a number of patients who did break down at this age. Sometimes an underlying biological disorder, like bipolar, will emerge.” Bipolar disorder, sometimes known as Manic Depression, is classified by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) as “a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person’s mood, energy and ability to function
“There are always a certain number of people who, in their first semester of college, have a breakdown,” said Deborah Rubin, a New York City-based clinical social worker and psychoanalyst. “It’s connected to losing the whole support system that they had—friends, family, the place where they grew up.” Conversely, Rubin said, another stressful life change occurs when students are graduating from college and begin to worry about facing the pressures of living in the “real world” and being truly on their own for the first time. “College can also be a point where people who have had problems all along are unable to cope anymore,” Rubin said. “I have had a number of patients who did break down at this age. Sometimes an underlying biological disorder, like bipolar, will emerge.” Bipolar disorder, sometimes known as Manic Depression, is classified by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) as “a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person’s mood, energy and ability to function
