Freshmen have it tough. Many are from different parts of the country or even different parts of the world, and they're dealing with the adjustment of being away from home for the first time. They are far from family and friends, and they are left to their own devices. These feelings often manifest themselves in what has been called "the freshman blues."
The infamous "freshman 15" - which, according to studies, is actually now the "freshman eight" - could quite possibly be the result of the freshman blues, since one way to cope with stress and depression is food overindulgence.
Researchers believe there is a link between the two conditions. As Psychology Affiliate Martin Zelin explained, depression is a plausible explanation for freshman weight gain. After all, "the [freshman] blues are a form of temporary depression," Zelin said.
"Depression is associated with losing things you are attached to - whether it is friends or even objects," Zelin added. "For many students, it is their first time away from home, and with this comes a fear of the new and the fear that one is not good as everyone else."
Another reason for "the freshman blues" is as simple as a student's performance in school. For many students at top universities, college is the first time when classes are actually challenging. In high school, many Tufts students received top grades, but at Tufts, they must face the fact that A's are not the average.
"I'm a pre-med student, and freshman year was very stressful for all of us who are pre-med," sophomore Michelle Marques said. "On the first Bio 13 test, the average grade was failing."
"Many of us didn't know what to do after that," she added. "[We] questioned whether we should drop the class, or even not do science at all."
Marques was also stressed over balancing academics, extracurricular activities and friends.
There are additional stress-causing problems, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). These include "awareness of your sexual identity and orientation," "exposure to new people, ideas and temptations" and "shifts in family relations." Socially, change is one of the few constants in early college life: when forced to make new friends and leave others behind, students often face big adjustments.
"All through life, people have to separate from things they are attached to - and this is quite naturally a difficult thing," Zelin said.
According to Zelin, biological or clinical depression can be set off by a new situation and environment. He said that students should be vigilant about whether "the freshman blues" are in fact a sign of something more serious.
"If [the depression] lasts more than a couple of weeks and it occurs every day, or if the student is thinking of hurting him or herself, these are the signs that the student has a serious problem and more than just 'the freshman blues,'" Zelin said.
"Another thing to look for is if the student can get out of bed without difficulty," he added. "If the student has no energy to even get out of bed, severe loss of appetite, lost of interest in sex, constant fatigue or eats too much, these are signs of serious depression."
If those symptoms sound like a friend, NIMH recommends that students offer that friend emotional support - "understanding, patience, affection and encouragement."
NIMH also recommends that students "engage the depressed person in conversation or activities and be gently insistent if [they] meet with resistance."
Depression can also lead to vulnerability to disease, which is a particularly dangerous aspect of "the freshman blues." According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "previous studies have shown a link between moods and vulnerability to disease and that social isolation can inhibit the body's ability to fight off infections."
In a recent study at Carnegie Mellon University, students who received the flu shot and had a "weak social network" responded poorly to the shot.
Students with a "weak social network" were defined as those who were lonely or disconnected from other people at college - a condition that is often experienced by first-year students.
But that's not to say it's not a condition that can't be overcome. "It's normal to have a lot of anxiety with starting school, though," Zelin said. "Going to school is like going to a foreign country - when you first get there you feel very confused."
Still, as their first semester comes to a close, many freshmen have managed to make the adjustment fairly well.
"You get over ['the freshman blues'] when you get closer to people after the first couple of weeks," freshman Marissa Oberlander said. "Sure, you still miss your friends from home when you are going through a tough time, but I think that's normal."
If a student would like professional assistance in dealing with "the freshman blues," he or she can call the Tufts Counseling Center. If a student is seriously depressed and needs help immediately, he or she can call the Tufts Public Safety Affairs office, where there is a counselor on-call 24 hours a day.
