Bad Day? Or is it more serious?
Oxford students are not fully aware of what depressive illness is or how it can be made better, according to recent research by mental health experts. The findings have sparked concern that the significant problem of depression in Oxford is under-recognised and under-treated.
In a recent survey by the University's Department of Psychiatry, 46 per cent of the undergraduates questioned were unsure whether depressive illness can be effectively treated. One in three regarded antidepressants as ineffective and one in five thought that counselling was ineffective. Furthermore, 30 per cent of respondents did not agree with the statement: "Depression is a medical condition."
Dr Jonathan Price, Clinical Tutor in Psychiatry, suggests that part of the problem is that some people see depression as a personality flaw, and others do not know the difference between brief periods of depressed mood, which are an inevitable part of life, and more persistent and severe low periods, which may constitute an illness. This is despite the fact that clinical depression is recognised by the World Health Organisation as the illness that is currently the fourth most common cause of disability in the world.
"Students don't know enough about it and we need to raise awareness. That's why we're doing the survey", Price told The OxStu. He believes that certain pressures peculiar to Oxford can exacerbate the problems of depression and dealing with it. "The students here are generally very capable, perfectionist and don't like failure."
For the students at Oxford who suffer from mental health problems, there are many sources of help available. As well as the welfare provision within colleges, OUSU offers a Student Advice Service and a number of advisory publications, including The Oxford Survival Guide. The University Counselling Service offers a confidential and professional service, which is strictly independent of the University (although funded by it), and Nightline is a confidential listening service run by students for students. In addition, there are other independent organisations within Oxford which are available to students, including The Samaritans, The ISIS Centre, MIND and the Oxford Depression Support Group.
Elsa Bell, who runs the University Counselling Service, told The OxStu that around 800 students use the service each year, which is five to six per cent of the student population. She believes that students do know quite a lot about depression and are resourceful enough to use the internet for information, but added "it takes a very determined effort from the students to come and use the service", and agreed that awareness needs to be raised about the difference between human sadness and depressive illness.
Part of this ignorance may be linked to the unusual collegiate structure of the University. Although colleges provide a more intimate and friendly atmosphere, with internal welfare provision in the form of JCR officers, chaplains and college GPs and nurses, the downside of this is that students are not always fully aware of the services available outside college. Speaking to The OxStu, Rosie Buckland, VP (Welfare), said: "Even more important than lifting the stigma of mental health problems is the need to let people know what services are available for them in Oxford and how they can get hold of this help. We need to work on this; out-of-college services are vital". She also believes that welfare for the depressed can vary significantly from one college to another.
Another concern brought up by Dr Price is a lack of understanding about depression on the part of some tutors and lecturers. The University has imposed central guidelines on SCRs regarding this, but Price believes "University teachers probably don't know enough about stress and depression, and should be a key target when it comes to raising awareness."
The Department of Psychiatry is carrying out further research, and hopes to determine whether simple interventions, such as informative postcards in students' pigeon holes, can change their beliefs about depression. An increased understanding of mental health problems would greatly benefit students, but equally important, if not more so, is the need to raise awareness about the services that are readily accessible to Oxford students. There are plenty available, but they can only make this University's environment a happier one if students know that they exist.
I can't quite put my finger on it. It's a feeling I get and I know that for a couple of days I'm just going to be down and I have to be a bit more careful and look after myself. It happens I suppose... Actually, I don't know why it happens. I just get depressed and it feels like everything slows down, but I cope with it.
I cope because I have to, because I want to be well, and occasionally getting depressed is part of that. What I have to cope with for me is that it ties me back into other things. When I was in my first year of GCSEs I just kind of lost it, and I coped with it by losing weight. Which ultimately meant that for nine months I ended up in a mental hospital weighing 43kg for all 5ft 8 of me, which is about 15kg lighter than your average skinny person.
I owe a lot to the hospital I went to, but I wouldn't wish it on anybody. I know myself better than most people twice my age, because to get over any kind of mental illness you have to. You have to look inside who you are and learn to live with it. It's not easy. I'm like an ex- smoker now when it comes to people with problems; I don't take much of them. I learnt quite quickly that the only way to get better is to want to be better for yourself: you need help, but if you don't want to get better, even with all the help in the world you won't. If I was to say anything, the thing that helped me most was my friends who just stayed like normal friends. They mean the world to me.
There are some wonderful stories that came out of the hospital. Me and a girl once spent a couple of weeks smuggling in coffee in our underwear (brings a new meaning to what would your mother think if you got run over). It turned out they'd let us have coffee anyway. We thought it was banned because we assumed it would be, knowing as we did that caffeine boosts your metabolism. Hilarious when you look back at it, only the girl's dead now to the best of my knowledge - she was a serious heroine addict last time I saw her, two years ago. That's along with another friend from hospital who is also an addict, two who are still ill after four years and one who's okay. I also spent ages smoking out of windows. I came out of hospital, got 7 A*'s and 2 A's, worked all summer and then blew it all on drugs in one not so memorable week, which I returned from barely able to spell.
I discovered last summer that actually for all that I was out of hospital, I still wasn't really well because I didn't look after myself. That's the hard part: once you've been ill, it doesn't go away. You learn how to cope with it. It's like you've broken a glass floor where most people stop but you just keep going unless you stop yourself. Except in an odd way I am okay. I'm odd, which someone I work with took great pleasure in telling me, but I kind of like that. I don't go to extremes - I like something if it makes me happy and leave it at that. Oxford is for me, like I fear for many other people, living up to its name as a 'no sex city'. That's what life's like; you just have to get on with it and look after yourself. Just do ordinary things like get to bed early or eat right, that's what helps. Mental illness is a serious thing, but it's difficult because it's so personal. Everyone needs help in that situation because it's not easy and most of the time you don't understand what or why it's happened. But oddly enough, it can be okay.
Where to get help...
(outside your college)
University Counselling Service - 11 Wellington Square, 9.15am-5.15pm. Tel (2)70300 to make an appointment.
Nightline - (2)70270, 8pm-8am
Student Advice Service -
See ousu.org/main/advice for more information
The Samaritans - 722122. The centre at 123 Iffley Road is open 8am-10pm, plus there is a 24 hour telephone service.
MIND (The National Association for Mental Health) - 125 Walton Street. Open 10am-4pm. Tel 511702.
The ISIS Centre - An NHS Counselling Service at Darlington House, Little Clarendon Street. Tel 556648.
Oxford Depression Support Group - offers support to people with depression. Groups meet once a month.
Tel 552640.
10th Jun 2004