Post-College Depression

By ISAIAH McCALL

Always looking down at their phones, no desire to get involved in serious matters (politics and such) and instead of enjoying that melty brownie sundae; they’re finding the best angle and lighting to get the perfect picture for Instagram. You guessed it, millennials (Oh and Gen Z too)

While many of the issues facing these generations can seem as trivial as their obsession with selfies, one problem that deserves the utmost attention in 2019 is post-college depression.

“It’s so easy to fall into a hole; you’re only used to a set schedule and college does nothing to prepare you for a 9-5 life,” said 24-year old and two year Ramapo college graduate Giancarlo Sepulveda,. “You’re thrown into a world of paying bills, looking for jobs and you really gain a newfound respect for adults that have been doing this for years.”

The American Psychological Association reports on average, millennials experience the highest level of stress than any other generation. And that stress can be attributed to three primary factors — debt, a lack of direction, and believe-it-or-not, our obsessions with our smartphones.

Smart Devices Stress You Out!

In 2019, more than 4 in 5 adults in the U.S. report that they constantly check their email, texts and social media accounts, according to a recent APA report.

“How could you not?” Sepulveda argues. “Job searching is so overwhelming in the internet age, and there’s really no way to go about it without being locked into technology.”

Satya Byock, a psychotherapist based in Portland, Oregon, who primarily treats millennials, said it’s inevitable that this age group will experience a long period of confusion and uncertainty; and that our attachment to electronic devices is only adding stress.

Byock goes onto state that looking for validation outside of yourself—something that is extremely present in the age of social media and ‘likes’—seems to be a major contributor to the stress millennials and Gen Zers face. Seeking external validation opens us up to comparing our lives to others, and allows us to think that everyone else has everything figured out, when in reality we’re all apart of the same struggle.

“Having external validation as our only validation is damaging. So I think it’s really critical for all individuals, in particular, young adults to have time for introspection and self-love and self-knowledge,” said Byock.

Student-Debt Intensifies Anxiety

The current student-debt crisis is another contributor to post-college depression and instills a tremendous amount of anxiety in finding a way to make money before your boulder of debt crushes you entirely.

According to Student Loan Hero, among the Class of 2018, 69% of college students took out student loans, and they graduated with an average debt of $29,800, including both private and federal debt. Meanwhile, 14% of their parents took out an average of $35,600 in federal Parent PLUS loans.

Upon polling 20 seniors preparing to graduate from Ramapo College this May, 17-of-the-20 attributed college debt as one of primary reasons they don’t look forward to a post-college world. If you applied this small sample size to the rest of the graduating class, you’d find that behind those smiles and cheers at the commencement ceremony are feelings of existential dread.

Among the 20 students polled, the three that listed having no anxiety over college debt, did still list an overall anxiety due to reasons being: “Having no job lined up,” or “having a lack of real direction or focus” when it came to post-college life. Every student polled felt at least some sort of additional stress, or anxiety just thinking about post-college life

Graduates like Sepulveda are in the majority when it comes to immediate post-college struggles.

Giancarlo Paone, 22 and a semi-professional magician graduated Rutgers University in the fall of 2018, and despite working in real estate for most of his college life, he found it difficult to land a steady paying job after college, fueling a depression that only grew.

“I was applying to several jobs a day, going to multiple interviews a week and networking as much as I possibly could, and never found that break I was looking for,” said Paone. “I thought ‘Is this even what I want to do in life?’ and ‘Did I just waste four years of my life and a ton of money for nothing?’ It makes you wonder why most adults don’t talk about serious alternatives to college with their children.”

Paone continued to talk about how his lack of direction—that was only fueled because he was jobless—led to him developing mental issues such as depression and additional anxieties.

“Not too long after I found myself feeling depressed almost every night of the week, trying to find my own purpose in life while also fighting to earn something that you shouldn’t even have to fight for — a basic living.”

No Sense Of Direction In Life Can Be Scary

The sad part is that Paone’s story isn’t even that unique; in an interview with CNBC, Decerry Donato, a graduate that earned her bachelor’s degree in literary journalism found herself unemployed for five months. Since then, she has worked as a retail sales associate, freelance writer, photographer, and is currently employed as a receptionist at a genetics lab.

“People assume that just because you have a degree, you’re set and you’re going to get a job right after college,” said Donato.

For many young adults, graduating college doesn’t seem to be the holy key to figuring everything out, despite many buying into that narrative that was (perhaps unintentionally) told to them growing up.

“Even if you have a job lined up, you only have about 1% extra mental security,” Sepulveda states. “You still don’t know if you’ll even like that job, or if there’s other jobs that will make you happier in the end.”

Like Dr. Byock said, confusion and uncertainty are inevitable in early adult life, what’s important however, is trying to help younger generations navigate this period of their lives. Especially in a society where it’s easy to discount mental struggles and illnesses, this needs to be at the forefront of our thinking.

More than likely you won’t know that the youth in your life are experiencing depression or anxiety after college, or towards the latter half of it. Depression is a silent issue after all, but now more than ever these generations need your help. Whether it’s just being somebody to talk to or even helping them find a mentor (or therapist) who can help guide them through the struggles of early adult life. A few words of advice just might be the help they need.