Poll shows many college students are stressed, depressed

WASHINGTON — Stress over grades. Financial worries. Trouble sleeping. Feeling hopeless.

So much for those carefree college days.

The vast majority of college students are feeling stressed these days, and significant numbers are at risk of depression, according to an Associated Press-mtvU poll.

Eighty-five percent of the students reported feeling stress in their daily lives in recent months, with worries about grades, school work, money and relationships the big culprits.

At the same time, 42 percent said they had felt down, depressed or hopeless several days during the past two weeks, and 13 percent showed signs of being at risk for at least mild depression, based on the students' answers to a series of questions that medical practitioners use to diagnose depressive illness.

These students complained of trouble sleeping, having little energy or feeling down or hopeless — and most hadn't gotten professional help. Eleven percent had had thoughts that they'd be better off dead or about hurting themselves.

That's not just a case of the blues to be shrugged off by taking a break with Facebook or going for a workout.

Kristin Potts, who graduated from Penn State last week with a 4.0 in chemistry and will go on for a master's, says she's seen warning signs among fellow classmates.

"I had a couple friends who didn't come out of their rooms very much," she said. "I tried my hardest not to be like that, but I definitely saw it."

At the University of Maryland in College Park, students were sobered by two suicides within two weeks this past semester.

"It was pretty scary," says Aimee Mayer, a junior studying psychology. She says there's lots of information and help available for students with mental disorders, but "there's still a stigma associated with mental health issues and so a lot of people don't want to go to those services. They feel like they're less cool or something like that if they go. It's like a sign of vulnerability."

Megan Salame, a sophomore studying civil engineering at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., says she'd turn first to her parents if she felt depressed. But she hastened to add, "Depressed — I don't really like to use that word because it sounds so negative."

Mental health disorders like depression typically begin relatively early in life, doctors say, and college is a natural time for symptoms to emerge.