Happy
New Year, SASFAA! Greetings from the Global Issues Committee. As we all settle
in and prepare for the oncoming rush of returning students I hope you come back
from the holiday season rested, rejuvenated, and ready to face a new award
season. January marks the start of one of the busiest times of year for financial
aid personnel so for many of us the holiday break is the downtime we need to
feel fortified to face the upcoming months. However there are many for whom the
holidays are not restful and are, in fact, a trigger for depression.
No
doubt, over the years you’ve likely heard that suicide rates spike during the
holidays. That’s not actually true. According to the CDC’s National
Center for Health Statistics
“the suicide
rate is, in fact, the lowest in December. The rate peaks in the spring and
the fall. This pattern has not changed in recent years. The holiday suicide
myth supports misinformation about suicide that might ultimately hamper
prevention efforts.” [1]
Why
is this relevant now? The relevancy lies in the fact that as higher education
professionals we are likely to be faced with numerous populations of students
in the coming days that are suffering from depression or other mental illness
that has been exacerbated by the holiday season. While there may not be an
increase in the number of suicides during the holiday, there is a steep
increase in depression that can lead to suicidal ideation and the increase in
suicide rates in the spring.
Who’s at Risk?
As financial aid professionals we
are in a unique position to interact with those students who are struggling to
cope with depression, stress, or other emotional issues. Finances are one of
the most stressful aspects of the college experience, so students visiting
Financial Aid are often doing so in high stress situations that may make
holiday-triggered depression worse. Students most vulnerable to holiday
triggered depression include any student that has lost family members, students
for whom their home environment may be abusive, veterans still attempting to
cope with transitioning back to civilian life or with PTSD, and youth in the
foster care system. The commonality between each of these groups of students is
that they are already susceptible to depression. The stress of the holiday can
simply make that depression worse.
What Can I Do?
Financial Aid personnel are ideally
situated to help reach out to those that may be coming back to campus suffering
from, or at-risk for, depression. So this January, as you begin seeing students
and gearing up for your busiest time of year, the Global Issues committee would
like remind you that you can make a difference.
1.
Be aware of the
background of each student you work with. Be sensitive to signs of depression,
particularly if you note that the student is a homeless youth at risk, a
veteran, has recently lost a parent, or is part of the foster care system.
2.
Don’t know what to
look for? Educate yourself and students on the signs and symptoms of
depression? http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression-and-college-students/index.shtml[2]
Our jobs are not simply to refer a student to counseling services on our
campus, but to remind students that they are not alone.
3.
Be familiar with the
services available to your students. Did you know that veterans are eligible to
receive free career counseling services under Chapter 36 benefits? In veterans
still trying to transition back to civilian life, career uncertainty and
financial worries during the holiday can exacerbate stress, depression, and
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Being able to assure returning service
men and women that career counseling is available may help mitigate stress.
Need more information? Visit http://www.benefits.va.gov/vocrehab/edu_voc_counseling.asp
to learn more about Chapter 36 benefits.
All
too often for those of us working the trenches of financial aid, it’s easy to
get caught up in the stress of the award season, changing regulations,
training, software updates, compliance issues, and federal reporting. This
January, let’s remember that we have the privilege everyday of working with
students in a way that is life changing. We make it possible for dreams to come
true for every student that needs financial aid to access to higher
education. Some students lose sight of
that dream due to depression; let’s find a way to help them hang on. Be aware,
be sensitive; be hope for those that are struggling. Our profession is a
tremendous blessing, but it’s also a weighty responsibility. Let’s be prepared
to do it right this semester. Good luck
out there SASFAA…!
Donna Quick,
Global Issues Committee
[1] The Annenberg Public
Policy Center. [Online]. (2010). The holiday-suicide link: The myth persists.
The Annenberg Public Policy Center (producer). Available from URL: http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/Downloads/Releases/ACI/Holiday%20Suicide%20release%202010.pdf
[Accessed 2014 Dec 13].
[2] National Institute of Mental Health. [Online] (2012).
Depression and College Students. National Institute of Mental Health (producer)
Available from URL: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression-and-college-students/index.shtml. [Accessed 2015 Jan. 11]
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