Post Graduation Depression

 Im going to switch it up a little for this weeks blog and tell a little story about one of my best friends. The topic for the story today is Post Gradation Depression. I feel this is such an important topic because of the time most of us are in life right now, which is about to graduate this year or next year. Post-graduation depression is described as depressive symptoms that occur after a person finishes college or university. Although it is not a medically recognized term, it is an experience many young adults may relate to. After many years of education, people may find adjusting to life after university challenging.

So my friend after college had a job set up in Indianapolis and she was coming from Washington D.C. where she went to college at Howard University. So already going from DC to Indianapolis was going to be a huge culture shock. Coming from  a Historically Black College/University was going to be different to living in Carmel Indiana outside of Indianapolis.

My friend would always talk about how at school everything would be set up for her. Where she would live, what she would do (like go to class), and even who she would be around. When I say who she would be around she struggled when it came to being alone so much more. She was in a brand new town with no friends, and only people she met through work. She told me she really had to consider and thin about who she was without being around her people all the time.

But on the other hand, she got through it. She was sad all the time and eventually ended up going to a therapist to help work with some of her issues. She told me that sitting back and thinking about her support system really helped her. She realized she had people she could call and people that loved and cared about her even though they weren't always around. She eventually even started to make friends with her work friends and they had friends she met.

So the moral of the story is how we deal with the change is what matters. It's ok to talk to someone if you are struggling. Normalizing being sad all the time isn't normal and isn't a way anyone should be living. I hope everyone reading this feels a little more inspired to talk to someone if they start feeling similarly to my friend after they graduate. Thanks for reading!!

Comments

  1. Heidi RottierMarch 28, 2024 at 6:19 AM

    The transition to being a full time employee is absolutely a challenge. There is far less structure, and so you have to make your own. It's really good to talk about it in forums like this, so that people know their feelings are normal.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Put yourself first

 Self care is a major part of maintaining good healthy habits. Not only is self care a major part of having good healthy habits but also good mental health habits to be more specific. I feel like people have to work so so much just to get to a place where they feel somewhat ok. This leaves little to no room for things that are good for the mental because you enjoy doing them.  Self care is an important aspect in maintaining a positive headspace. Knowing when is probably the most important key to this. Having the self awareness to know when you're burnt out or need a break is really key. Thats why it's also good to have little check ins with yourself. Asking yourself questions like, "when is the last time I did something just because I enjoy it" or "How can I benefit more in the future from taking time to myself now". Taking time for yourself and doing something you really enjoy can mean a bunch of different things for different people. That can even include
Read more

My why

Mental Health is something that affects everyone at some point in their life. Whether it's your own mental health or someone else's, it's important to understand the signs and symptoms of someone that might need help. Things like change in appetite, insomnia, withdrawal, and relying on alcohol or sedatives are the most common signs i've seen most as a college student amongst my peers. It's so important to check on the people closest to you because you never truly know what someone is struggling with internally.  This brings me to social media, which is a huge part of our daily lives. Mental health is talked about more because of social media yes, but is Social Media really helping? I always hear my peers talk about deleting their social media apps because they need the mental break. I was in class this past week and a student mentioned how when they use social media they "always" see a decline in their mental health. Which I've heard not only from that
Read more

Overcoming Negative Thoughts

 To have negative thoughts it something that is a normal everyday occurrence for most people. It's ok to have a negative thought every once in a while, but it can become a problem when you're having negative thoughts all the time. Things like self doubt and worry can lead to things like stress, anxiety, and depression. Hopefully with some awareness and practice it's possible to overcome these thoughts. The first step is to understand negative thought patterns. These include some cognitive distortions that are irrational or exaggerated ways of thinking. Some common Cognitive distortions include,  All-or-nothing thinking (seeing situations in black-and-white terms, Catastrophizing (expecting the worst-case scenario), Overgeneralization (drawing broad conclusions from single incidents), and Personalization (assuming responsibility for things beyond your control). By recognizing what these thought patterns are we can move forward to change how we think. The next step is to cult
Read more