1.

0 INTRODUCTION

Depression is a very serious issue and often becomes a major topic in magazines,
newspapers and the internet. Sadness, feeling down, having a loss of interest or pleasure in
daily activities - these are symptoms familiar to all of us. But, if they persist and affect our
life substantially, it may be depression. According to William C. Shiel Depression is An
illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that affects the way a person eats,
sleeps, feels about himself or herself, and thinks about things. According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), depression is the most common illness worldwide and the leading
cause of disability. They estimate that 350 million people are affected by depression,
globally. While in Malaysia depression is the most common mental illness reported. It is by
far the most important and the most treatable condition and is projected to affect
approximately 2.3 million people in Malaysia, at some point in their lives yet, depression
remains under detected and undertreated.

In this report, author will discuss and analyse about the factor, effect and how to
prevent depression in University student. Depression often occur to the university student.
Many of us think of college as a wondrous time of new experiences and great freedom to
explore new ideas and find one’s true self. However, depression and anxiety have afflicted
college students at alarming rates. As noted in the latest Centre for Collegiate Mental Health
report, anxiety and depression are the top reasons that college students seek counselling.
Research shows that nearly 1 in 5 university students are affected with anxiety or depression.
Depression can affect a student's ability to work, study, interact with peers, or take care of
themselves. Symptoms of depression may include difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much,
appetite changes, withdrawing from participating in activities once enjoyed, feelings of
sadness, hopelessness, unhappiness, and difficulty concentrating on school work. Symptoms
of depression can also lead to thoughts of suicide.
1.1 Types of Depression

There are several types of depressive disorders.

i. Major depression: Severe symptoms that interfere with the ability to work, sleep, study, eat,
and enjoy life. An episode can occur only once in a person’s lifetime, but more often, a
person has several episodes.

ii. Persistent depressive disorder: A depressed mood that lasts for at least 2 years. A person
diagnosed with persistent depressive disorder may have episodes of major depression along
with periods of less severe symptoms, but symptoms must last for 2 years.

Some forms of depression are slightly different, or they may develop under unique
circumstances. They include:

• Psychotic depression, which occurs when a person has severe depression plus some form of
psychosis, such as having disturbing false beliefs or a break with reality (delusions), or
hearing or seeing upsetting things that others cannot hear or see (hallucinations).

• Postpartum depression, which is much more serious than the “baby blues” that many
women experience after giving birth, when hormonal and physical changes and the new
responsibility of caring for a newborn can be overwhelming. It is estimated that 10 to 15
percent of women experience postpartum depression after giving birth.

• Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which is characterized by the onset of depression during
the winter months, when there is less natural sunlight. The depression generally lifts during
spring and summer. SAD may be effectively treated with light therapy, but nearly half of
those with SAD do not get better with light therapy alone. Antidepressant medication and
psychotherapy can reduce SAD symptoms, either alone or in combination with light therapy.

• Bipolar disorder is different from depression. The reason it is included in this list is because
someone with bipolar disorder experiences episodes of extreme low moods (depression). But
a person with bipolar disorder also experiences extreme high moods (called “mania”).
2.0 FACTORS OF DEPRESSION

It's not known exactly what causes depression. As with many mental disorders, a
variety of factors may be involved such as a combination of recent events and other long-
term or personal factors, rather than immediate and more other factors.

Firstly, depression may come from personal factors such as family history.
Depression can occur in the family and some people will experience increased genetic risk.
However, having a parent or relative closest to depression does not mean that you will
automatically have the same experience. The life situations and other personal factors may
still have an important influence. Besides, some people may be more at risk of depression
because of their personality, especially if they have a tendency to worry, have low self-
esteem, perfection, sensitive to personal criticism, or self-criticism and negativity. In
addition, Stress and anxiety to cope with serious illness can cause depression, especially if
you are dealing with long-term management or chronic pain. Then, the use of drugs and
alcohol can lead to and consequences of depression. Many people who suffer from depression
also have problems with drugs and alcohol.

The other factor of depression is from life events. Research shows that persistent
difficulty like long-term unemployment, living in coarse or insensitive relationships, long-
term or lonely isolation, prolonged working pressure are more likely to cause depression from
recent stresses. However, recent events (such as losing your job) or a combination of events
can 'trigger' depression if you are at risk from bad experiences or previous personal factors.

Although there are many researches in this complex area, there are still many that we
do not know. Depression is not merely the result of a 'chemical imbalance', for example,
because you have too much or not enough of certain brain chemicals. It is complicated, and
there are various causes of major depression. Factors such as genetic disadvantages, severe
stress, substances that you may take (drugs, medicines, and alcohol) and medical conditions
can affect your brain control your mood.

Furthermore, following the loss of loved ones, the mourning individual experiences
the same factors of depression. Sleep problems, lack of appetite, and loss of excitement or
interest in activity are a normal reaction to loss. Symptoms of sadness are expected to decline
over time. But when the symptoms get worse, grief can become depression.
 Other than that, University students also face many challenges including independent
living, academic stress, as well as planning for their future careers and this predisposes them
to depression. In a review of statistical data in 2016, the prevalence of depression among
university students reported higher than the general population. Among Malaysian students,
the prevalence of moderate depression found 27.5% and 9.7% were found to be as severe or
very severe depression. Various risk factors for depression among university students have
been identified such as higher academic years, low socioeconomic status, low academic
performance and life satisfaction, high alcohol consumption, smoking, gambling, social
support, living stress, post-pressure impairment trauma, physical inactivity, excess weight or
obesity and sleep problems.

TABLE 1 : Prevalence of depression among university student from different countries

Everyone is different and is often a combination of factors that can contribute to

depression. It is important to remember that you cannot always identify the cause of
depression or alter the difficult situation. Most important is to recognize signs and symptoms
and get support.
3.0 EFFECTS OF DEPRESSION

Prolonged negative emotions related to depression can have significant short term and
long term effects on our mental health, physical health and behaviour. In turn, this can affect
a person’s work performance, home and social life and ultimately the personal relationships
and own self-worth and motivation.

In the short term, clinical depression can reduce a person’s enjoyment of life,
withdraw them from their family and friends and it makes them feel isolate. Depression
means that we can lose focus of our priorities and goals in life and drains the motivation to
achieve and to do the things that we like. This in turn underestimates our self-worth and self-
esteem leaves us with a feeling of hopelessness and despair. Clinical depression can effect
daily activities. For example:-

 Hardness to sleep (insomnia) – depression keep you awake at night

 Feeling of emptiness – feeling anxiety when alone
 Preoccupation with death – increase the risk of suicide
 Trouble with memory or decision – especially common in older adults with
depression

In the long term, prolonged depression can make serious impacts on one’s health,
leading to the development of serious illness. A continued imbalance in chemicals in our
bodies can weakens a person’s immune system and mental health thus leading to many other
serious conditions. Depression can affect entire body if left untreated. For example:-

 Risks of heart attack – people who are depressed are more likely to die following a
heart attack.
 Weight fluctuations – depression can lead to overeating or appetite loss
 Constricted blood vessel – depression cause blood vessel to constrict, raising the risk
of cardiovascular disease
 Increased pain sensitivity – headache and other pains may affect a person with
depression
 Fatigue – depression can wipe out energy levels during the day
 Lower interest in sex – depressed cause a loss of interest in activity including sex
 Weakened immune system – depression weakens the ability to fight off disease
4.0 PREVENTION OF DEPRESSION

Depression can be grievous and life-altering, affecting the quality of life and the
happiness of those who live with it. In some cases, it’s possible to prevent depression, even if
you have already had a previous episode. There are many lifestyle changes and stress
management approach you can use to prevent or avoid depression. There are certain activities
that can cause us to experience depressive episodes.

Firstly, you can prevent depression by builds a strong relationship with family members,
friends or partner. Having a strong relationship and active social life is important for our
mental health. Research has shown that having even “adequate” social support can protect us
against depression. Make sure that you’re regularly connecting with friends, family, and
partners, even when your lives are busy. Attending social events when you can find new
hobbies that could help you meet new people can all help you build new relationships too.

Besides, you should cut back on social media time. Research has shown that increased
social media usage can cause or contribute to depression and low self-esteem. Social media
can be addicting, and it’s a necessity to stay connected with family, friends, and even
coworkers. It’s how we plan and invite each other to events and share the big news. However,
limit your social media time can help prevent depression. You can do this by deleting all
social apps from your phone or only going to social media with a purpose and avoiding
logging on several times a day just for something to do.

After that, you also can maintain a healthy weight. Obesity can result in low self-esteem,
especially once you start adding in the judgment and criticisms of other people. Besides,
adults with depression were more likely to be obese than those without it. If you’re exercising
regularly, getting enough sleep, and eating well, maintaining a healthy weight should fall into
place.

Lastly, you also must stay away from toxic people. We have all met that person who just
talks bad and makes us feel bad about ourselves. Sometimes they’re an outright bully, and
other times they subtly put us down to make themselves feel better. They may even be
someone who wants to take advantage of us. Regardless of the specific situation, toxic people
must be avoided at all costs. They can lower our self-esteem in any situations.
5.0 CONCLUSION

In a nutshell, problems like depression or stress and anxiety can lead to major issues
such as mental illnesses and health problems. Depression may happen not only to students
but also everyone and everybody should always prevent and protect themselves from getting
such a serious and stressful disease. Depression may happened to someone because of
personal factors, unfortunate life events, loss of loved ones and unhealthy medical condition.
There are two types of depression which are clinical (short-term) and prolonged (long-term).
The effect of clinical depression to someone may include hardness to sleep (insomnia),
feeling of emptiness, and preoccupation with death also trouble with memory or decision.
While the effect of prolonged depression are risks of heart attack, weight fluctuations,
constricted blood vessel, increased pain sensitivity, fatigue, lower interest in sex and also
weakened immune system.

Clearly, the depression must be prevent and manage it in good ways with build a
strong relationship with family members, friends or partner. Other than that, the people that
having depression must cut back on social media time and stay connected with family,
friends, and or co-workers. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and getting a fit weight also can
reduce the depression to be happened. Last but not least, avoiding the negative people that
can bring down our self-esteem in order to stay happy and have a better life with zero-
depression.
6.0 APPENDICES

Figure 1

Figure 2 : Malaysia Hotline Number

Figure 3 : Symptom of Depression

Figure 4: Depression Causes
REFERENCES
Denise. (2019). What Causes Depression?

Goldberg, J. (2018). Types of Depression.

Jegg, T. J. (2017). 15 Ways To Avoid Depression .

Mayo, C. (2009). Depression (Major Depressive Disorder).

Munawar, K. (2017). Determinent Factors Of Depression: A Survey Among University.

NIMH. (2011). Depression: What You Need To Know.

Schimelpfening, N. (2018). Physical Effects of Depression.

Seymour, T. (2018). What To Know About Avoiding Depression.

Timothy, J. (2017). The Effects of Depression In Your Body.