Baskadia

Depression (example)

Lucille had told the counceller that she was feeling deeply depressed. It was nearly the end of term, and her father was arriving from New York the next day to take her home to see a psychiatrist. I had been asked by the college to see her before she left.

She said she no longer felt motivated by anything, yet none of the questions I asked led to expected answers. Yes, she was enjoying her course. Yes, she had made some good friends. She was up to date with all her coursework and didn’t struggle to get work in on time. She wanted a career within the field she was studying.

Gradually a story emerged. She was an only child, felt the burden of expectation, and had always, to her memory, been anxious to do well. Still, she had thrived at school and was part of a strong group of friends. However, something had happened there two years previously, which, it now seemed, had dramatically changed her outlook on life. Two friends at the school had tried to kill themselves.

Their final year, with stressful exams and a lot riding on them, had taken its toll, with many of the students struggling to keep pace. Lucille’s closest friend had taken an overdose; a boy in their group had tried to hang himself—fortunately, both had been found in time.

Lucille hadn’t been struggling but, as she admitted, she had caught the mood. She wanted to be happy but she found herself wondering what the point of anything was. It later emerged that, when Lucille was a child, an aunt had killed herself by jumping off a bridge, and an older cousin she was close to hanged himself.