I can't tell you how wonderful it was to see a full-blown article about depression ("Looking Forward" SN 10/9). There are so many of us on campus, both girls and guys, who suffer from it in silence. It's still not 100-percent acceptable to admit that you have a mental illness, but I'd like to think that's changing. I would have also liked to see a little more detail on how to fight the illness. It's almost trendy now to just take a pill and think you've done your part in fighting your depression. But it's so much more than that. Depression doesn't just happen. It's a result of how you've handled emotional stresses in life.

For many people, there's often no reason to take a pill once you take the time and energy to correct how you've reacted and handled those past situations and relearn how to handle new situations. Research has continually shown vast improvement in depressed individuals who undergo regular counseling therapy versus those who just medicate themselves. I've personally had several faculty teach this point time and time again in class.

Granted, there are those who do have biological conditions that warrant medication, but I feel that it is far fewer than today's pharmaceutical companies wish us to believe. Pick up any recent issue of Time or Newsweek and you'll see more and more reports on how Americans are over-medicating themselves. Compared to almost every other country in the world, our country's citizens consume more drugs for mental health problems many times over.

OK, so forget the numbers and the research, but take it from me, someone who has struggled with depression for several years now: I'd much rather get to the heart of what's making me sick or depressed, and actually fix the problem, than just take a pill to numb myself. Wouldn't you?

Julielyn Gibbons
communication junior