Depression is more common at Chico State than many people realize

Ted Weber is no longer enrolled at Chico State.

Weber, 21, was an English major before depression forced him to withdraw from school for a semester his freshman year.

Since then, his continuing fight with depression has harmed his grades, and his parents refused to pay for school this semester.

“How am I supposed to stop being depressed?” Weber said.

Weber’s battle is not uncommon.

The Counseling Center sees over 1000 students a year for various concerns, said Dr. Mimi Bommersbach, a licensed clinical psychologist who has worked at Chico State for 10 years.

“About 60 percent of the students that come in come in for depression.” Bommersbach said. “This is a common everyday kind of problem, like the common cold.”

People who are depressed often feel as though there is something wrong with them, she said.

“They feel like they’re crazy,” Bommersbach said.

Depression is a normal response to a significant loss, like a break-up, she said. People are often depressed because there are things happening in their life that are beyond their ability to cope, and they shut down.

Often just coming in and talking about the problem, opening up to somebody else is hugely healing. Bommersbach said. Not carrying around the secret is unburdening.

The truth is that depression is treatable, but part of the problem is that people don’t come in for treatment, Bommersbach said.

“In 2007, we thought we would like to know about the students who don’t come in.” Bommersbach said.

The Counseling Center partnered with the University of Michigan in 2007 to conduct a study of the mental health of Chico State students.

The Healthy Minds Study, as it was called, found that 10 percent of our students have major depression, 18 percent have depression overall.

The study also found that there is a lot of stigma attached to having a mental illness. 63 percent of those surveyed said that “most people would think less of someone who has received mental health treatment.”

“The stigma is often the reason why people don’t seek help” Bommersbach said.

When people get depressed, they isolate themselves, she said. They don’t want to talk to anyone. But talking through it and normalizing it can help.

“Our first line of treatment is just talking about the problem.” Bommersbach said. “Helping them see that there’s things they can do, and we help them figure out what those things are.”

The Counseling Center offers free counseling services to students. One-on-one, couples, and group therapy sessions are all available.

Also, women are more likely to seek help through counseling than men, Bommersbach said via email. “67% of our clients last year were women, 33% were men. Men are not coming in for treatment — and treatment is quite effective.”

After coming in, students have said that I was able to, access and express their emotions, find comfort in speaking to someone, get their strength, power, and control back, and gain confidence, Bommersbach said.

“We at the counseling center are good at working with men, as we know how hard it is for them to seek help,” she said.

Active Minds, a student organization dedicated to raising mental health awareness, has a chapter on campus, Bommersbach said.

Active Minds is more like a club, and may be beneficial to those who don’t feel comfortable in a counseling-type setting.

“I love what I do,” Bommersbach said. “It’s very satisfying, because people get better.”

And as for Weber, he is currently looking for a job, and really wants to be back in school.

“I miss the one thing I had in common with everybody which is that we’re going to school,” he said.