Are you finding it tough?

With the semester drawing to a close and exams approaching, we can only hope everyone is coping well. It is understandable that some of us may feel emotionally drained from studies and assignments or the worst case scenario, a sense of hopelessness during this period.

University life isn’t always as fun or pleasurable for students as it is made out to be, facing challenges and difficulties are all part of the game… and it really helps to have the support and assistance of loved ones or friends. This is why the importance of social interaction and moral support especially for international students cannot be overly emphasized. A student’s hopelessness can be considered as a negative expectation about themselves and their future. This can sometimes lead to depression or anxiety and therefore dissatisfying their university experiences.

“A survey of international students from RMIT and Victoria universities found that two-thirds felt depressed or sad, and many felt discriminated. The survey provides a rare glimpse into the well-being of international students in Australia: an education cash cow worth an estimated $10 billion a year.” (Source: theage.com.au) Main causes for depression for international students could range from sadness, loneliness and discrimination among others.

Are you at risk of depression? I found this interactive tool while surfing on Yahoo and have embedded it below. It can help you assess your symptoms and find out if you might have depression. It calculates how many common symptoms of depression you have and based on your answers, it suggests where you might be on a scale from not depressed to depressed.



Although this tool is not for diagnosis, it may help you find out whether you should seek help. Well I hope this post was informative… thanks for reading and best of LUCK for your coming exams! I’m sure you’ll need it.