Gina Lucro, undecided major, has struggled with depression all her life and still deals with it.
She attended the depression workshop coordinated by the Re-Entry Resource program on Wednesday, March 29.
“Depression has severely affected me. I’ve struggled all my life with it. I’ve gone through multiple suicide attempts and I still suffer from that.”
Like Lucro, several students gathered in the classroom to learn more about depression which was presented by Maria Cevallos, a Department of Mental Health social worker.
Re-entry resources specialist, Shannon Estrada, said “I met Maria Cevallos at the very first community resource fair about eight years ago. I asked her if she would be willing to do workshops here on campus and she said yes.”
Cevallos has been the presenter for these workshops ever since and they started happening at the college, twice a year.
She spoke about how depression interrupts thinking, affects mood, relationships and functioning in the person. It causes loss of interest and affects more than three million american people a year.
Some of the symptoms are irritability, anger, insomnia, substance abuse, exhaustion, negative thinking, overeating or no appetite at all.
Cevallos discussed the stigma that has been attached to having a mental illness.
“There is a myth that mental illness like depression affects only weak people. That is not true. It affects people from all walks of life regardless of socioeconomic status,” she said.
She also stressed to never ignore someone who states they will commit suicide or someone who surpasses their feelings because it can escalate to something much worse. Students offered up how depression has affected their lives.
Michelle Steele, a computer animation major, also said, “Depression has been a part of my life for a while now and it has just been a struggle. It’s weighed me down and has also pushed me be to do better.”
She added, “I came to this event because I wanted to know about the resources available to me. I had no idea that Student Health Center offered so many things for depression which makes me really glad I came to this workshop.”
Some tips to help deal with depression are to exercise, eat nutritiously, get seven to eight hours of sleep, practice your spirituality daily, reduce stress, journal, and help the people around you.
Shannon Estrada said, “If anything, I hope that students know where to get help. I hope Maria was able to get through to them to some places where they might seek help and things they can do that can help with depression.”
The Student Health Center offers help with mental illness, also students can contact websites like NAMI.org (National Zlliance on Mental Illness) or NIMH.org (National institute on mental health).
In addition, contact the department of mental health access line 24/7 by calling 1-800-854-7771.
