How to fight depression in college

Colleges and universities around the U.S. have struggled to respond to their students’ increasing need for mental health services.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of depression and anxiety were soaring among young people.

One recent international study found that approximately 19 percent of first-year college students across eight countries were diagnosed with depression within the previous year.

Care for himself or herself.

New research published in Psychological Science points to an important risk factor for college student depression: the feeling that one doesn’t belong.

A sense of belonging involves more than simply having social contacts.

Belonging also goes beyond feeling supported by others or having close relationships. A college student could have a close group of friends on campus and spend a lot of time with those friends but still feel like they don’t belong at their college or university.

Belonging is about feeling valued by a group or institution.

A student who doesn’t have a sense of belonging may feel like a “visitor” or interloper instead

how to deal with anxiety and depression in college

how to deal with depression as a college student