As of last year, the Mental Health Awareness and Advocacy Group--also founded by Kent--has helped to bring mental illnesses such as depression from the realm of conversational taboo into students' consciousness. The group, supported by UHS Health Education Office, brings speakers on issues of Mental Health, sponsors Colloquia and helps with Depression screening programs.
Although the students discuss formal treatment methods at meetings, they also try to probe the causes of depression--where it originates and how to alleviate the stressful sources.
According to Kent, last year a student suffering from depression who sought counseling at the Bureau was assured of confidentiality, but the Bureau later contacted her Senior Tutors. The Tutor then allegedly referred to the student's proclivity toward depression on a medical school recommendation.
"People are scared of publicizing their mental health issues, especially when it comes to jobs," says Kent, "every medical school to which the student applied brought up the issue of depression during his interviews...as a result, he was denied admission."
It is due to incidents such as these that Kent and other students in the support group have tried to focus their energies on how to find the right kind of treatment on campus. However, Kent said she and other students, both those who have suffered from depression and those who have helped friends through such experiences, are still unsure whether Harvard's pressurized environment itself may be at the heart of students' depression.
"College is a depressing time of life, not very conducive to mental health," says a junior in Leverett House who has helped many of her friends through periods of depression. Kent agrees that Harvard students lack free time and strong sense of community support, citing specific Harvard causes of depression such as lack of sleep and "If you have any chemical predisposition to bedepressed, Harvard will trigger depression becausethis is a crazy place," she says. Other students are more lighthearted aboutdepression. "Everyone I know just wants a boyfriend," jokeda sophomore in Lowell who preferred to remainanonymous. However, Ducey confirms this popularintuition. "A boyfriend [or] girlfriend is a great cure...because intimacy is the best protection againstbeing depressed." Despite the negligible dating scene at Harvardand the frenetic pace of student life here, manyintrinsic Harvardian traits help offsetdepression. Dr. Randolphe Catlin, chief of mentalhealth services at UHS, says that Harvardstudents' "productivity" coupled with thesuccess-drive that brought them to the Ivy leaguebetter equip them to deal with life'sdisappointments. Whether or not Harvard students'competitiveness, high stress level and innatedefense-mechanisms increase or decreasesusceptibility depression, most students agreethat available mental health resources areinadequate. Many depressed students are ashamed or nervousabout burdening friends with their problems andhesitant to seek help at UHS or the Bureau ofStudy Council. Yet, as Ducey says, the best cure fordepression is talking to someone, seeking intimacyin order to help ease the feelings of loneliness. Ducey encourages students concerned that theymay be depressed to drop by the Bureau which hesays is accessible and nurturing and offers a fullrange of mental health groups and workshops eachsemester in addition to providing individualcounseling. "Through therapy and counseling... Depressionis a very treatable, straightforward condition,"he says. Students can reach the free depressionscreening hot line at 1-800-729-8269. Those whoseresponses to the ten-question diagnostic indicatethey are depressed will be connected by theoperator to UHS personnel for a consultation.