Issue date: 11/7/03 Section: News

Media Credit: Joe Raedle/ Getty Images DaMaris Ramos, a pharmaceutical technician, hunts for a prescription drug at the Post Haste Pharmacy and Surgical Store in Hollywood, Fla.

by Mandi Kane
Daily Lobo

UNM's Student Health Center offers several resources including therapy and prescription medications to address the growing number of students suffering from depression.

"Depression is actually a quite common mental disorder across the country," said Carol Wagner-Adams, a licensed psychologist who heads the Counseling and Therapy Services (CATS) at the Student Health Center.

Depression can be spurred by a major life event, such as divorce or death, or by biological factors, Wagner-Adams said.

Most episodes of depression last between six and seven months, Wagner-Adams said.

"Episodes are very impairing," she said.

Depression can impair the brain's cognitive functions such as attention, memory, decision-making skills and problem solving.

"There are only 16 weeks in a semester and if you are out of commission for a third of that, it will have a dramatic impact on how you do (academically)," Wagner-Adams said.

Signs of depression include mood swings, nervousness, fear, changes in weight or sleeping patterns, withdrawal from social institutions and "feeling like you are going into a black hole," she said.

Suicidal or homicidal thoughts and gestures can also be emergent signs of depression.

It can be treated with interpersonal psychotherapy and cognitive therapy, Wagner-Adams said.

Medication is also an option available to those suffering from depression. However, it is most effective when paired with therapy, which is what most clinicians recommend, Wagner-Adams said.

She said medication can take months to become effective and should not be viewed as an immediate cure, she said.

"Antidepressants are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)," said Linda Haakenson, manager of the Student Health Center Pharmacy. "They affect chemicals in the brain that deal with mood."

According to the current issue of Time magazine, a growing number of the nation's youth suffering from mental disorders, including depression, are being treated with medication.

The antidepressant prescriptions most commonly filled by the Student Health Center Pharmacy are Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft, Haakenson said. Side effects from antidepressants vary among individuals and can include drowsiness and weight loss.

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