The Post reports that more NYU students than ever are on antidepressants. According to the Post, internal reports show that NYU's mental health services are prescriping three times more pills, like Xanax and BuSpar, versus five years ago; additionally, Clozapine, the anti-psychotic drug, has a 173% increase in usage. This may be due to the fact that more people are actually getting attention for their mental health needs, with the the growing nationwide acceptance with combatting depression, especially in young people (see Prozac Nation). But NYU's spokesman also notes that "We're seeing more students who might not have graduated high school without the medication." NYU is now teaming with the city's mental health services, LifeNet, to help counsel and guide students.
What would be interesting is to see if there was a jumped due to the number of NYU students who are upset about the recent suicides now racing to the Mental Health services for some 'scripts. At any rate, while these stats seem alarming, Gothamist feels that counseling and treating depression constructively and in the context of mental health professionals can only be a good thing.
