As colder weather sets in and midterm exams begin, Boston University administrators say the university provides a variety of options to halt the onslaught of anxiety and depression often associated with this time of year.
Psychology professor Todd Farchione said BU’s Center for Anxiety and Other Related Disorders accepts students and patients from the Greater Boston area who are dealing with anxiety disorders.
“Last year, we had 32 patients who were assigned a principal diagnosis of major depressive disorder,” he said. “It’s about 10 percent of our overall patient flow for the year. Thus far, in 2005, we’ve had about 24 patients with [Manic Depressive Disorder]. May and June were the heaviest months, though it’s about three patients per month in general.”
Farchione said it is important for college students in particular to deal with anxiety problems aggressively and immediately.
“Depression can have some pretty profound effects, given the importance of every semester,” he said. “If you miss 2 or 3 weeks [of classes], you’re in bad shape.”
College of Arts and Sciences junior Vidhya Balu said the lack of life experience might prevent college students from being able to cope with life’s stresses.
“I don’t think it’s unexpected at this age, we’re learning about who we want to be and who we are becoming,” she said. “Sometimes we don’t have the proper guidance to know exactly what route to take. Sometimes we lose our perspective.”
Samaritans Hotline of Boston, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, receives over 80,000 calls annually. The group uses a technique called “befriending” to provide students with a positive outlet for discussing their anxiety, Executive Director Roberta Hurti said.
“We let them work through their own solutions,” she said. “It is not an advice line or a therapy line. Often it is just a safe place to reach out for help. If someone can talk through their issue, many times they can discover what else is affecting them and seek out help from mental health services.”
BU offers its own anonymous and confidential crisis hotline manned by trained volunteers called the Speakeasy, available weeknights.
CAS sophomore Robert Eckman said he is not sure if using a crisis hotline would be his first course of action.
“I haven’t used a hotline, I’m not sure if I would,” he said. “I’d rather talk to someone I knew or be referred to someone, rather than do it over the phone.”
Hurti said individuals feel comfortable in different scenarios and the best way to help them is to offer a variety of services.
“Hotlines are only one important part of the mix,” she said. “We also want to make sure that the students realize that there are other services available.”
Balu said she goes to her family and friends when she is feeling stressed or depressed.
“If I’m feeling depressed, I’ll call my mom or a friend, someone I know really well,” she said. “I’ve never been depressed to a severe degree and I usually just reflect on myself through other people. I think it’s a great service for people who don’t have people close to them though.”
Anxiety disorders can be treated with antidepressant medications including Prozac, Zoloft and Wellbutrin, which alter chemical balances in the brain, or through a process called cognitive restructuring, Farchione said.
“We are challenging a patient’s depressive thoughts and making a more realistic assessment of what’s happening,” he said. “Many times it’s like patients are looking through dark-colored glasses, looking at world not being so bright anymore. We try to challenging the patient’s cognitive process, asking them, ‘Are you really a failure at everything?'”
Farchione said he encourages students to continue their daily routines even if they are feeling depressed or overwhelmed with work.
“We are also changing emotion-driven behaviors,” he said. “Like not allowing the person to fall into a state of staying in bed all day and getting the person to engage in social interaction, even if they don’t want to.”
Eckman said when he is feeling depressed he diverts his attention to other activities.
“I think the easiest thing to do is just occupy yourself and not dwell on something,” he said. “Talking to friends or going for a walk also helps to get your head clear.”
Hurti said calls to the hotline are evenly distributed because they are not exclusive to college students.
“Calls are pretty dispersed throughout the year,” she said. “We get more calls around holiday time, but in fact, suicide statistics show that more people take their lives during spring months.”
Farchione said he also sees an influx of younger students near the beginning of the year.
“I see students coming in a lot at the beginning of the semester,” he said. “Typically, freshman trying to make that transition from high school to college. I also see students during times in which they are way overburdened.”
Hurti said the hotline also encounters student callers who have been using drugs and alcohol to numb the pain of their anxiety.
“When people are in pain, one option is to self medicate,” she said. “One of our concerns is that both alcohol and drugs combined with depression certainly increases the impulse to make lethal and permanent decisions.”
According The American Association of Suicidology, in 2001 approximately 3,971 of the 30,622 suicides were victims between 15 and 24 years old. These statistics do not include the number of attempted suicides.
Hurti said since the hotline in anonymous and confidential, volunteers can only encourage callers considering suicide to call the police.
“We do our best to befriend them in a way that allows them to agree to send emergency services,” she said.
