Hello Bishops and families! As fall break arrives, this could be a great time for everyone to check-in with each other around mental health and engage in some self-care practices. October is National Depression Awareness and Education Month, so we wanted to provide some helpful insights for our OWU families. While everyone feels sad or low at times, these feelings usually pass. Depression is different and has severe symptoms that affect how people feel, think, and act.
There are two common types of depression:
- Major depression- includes symptoms of depressed mood or loss of interest, most of the time for at least 2 weeks, that interfere with daily activities.
- Persistent depressive disorder (also called dysthymia or dysthymic disorder) – consists of less severe depression symptoms that last much longer, usually for at least 2 years.
Other types of depression include the following.
- Seasonal affective disorder – comes and goes with the seasons, symptoms typically starting in the late fall and early winter and going away during the spring and summer.
- Bipolar disorder – involves depressive episodes, as well as manic episodes (or less severe hypomanic episodes) with unusually elevated mood, greater irritability, or increased activity level.
Learn the signs and symptoms of depression, how it is diagnosed, treatments, and ways to get help here: https://go.nih.gov/0uqAIBh
OWU Counseling Services for students
Counseling Services can either provide or direct your student to the most appropriate resources for their mental health and wellness. Counseling Services also collaborates with campus offices and community agencies for outreach programming geared towards mental health-related promotion and prevention efforts. Appointment scheduling can be done in-person (at R.W. Corns 316) or by phone. Please contact OWU Counseling Services at 740-368-3145 or counselingservices@owu.edu with any questions.
OWU Sponsoring Organization/Office: OWU Counseling Services
Contact: Leana K. Froehlich-Terry at lkfroehlichterry@owu.edu