The average age of onset for many mental health conditions range from 18 to 24 years old- which also happens to be the typical college age range.

This comes from The Jed Foundation, an organization that aims to have a positive impact on college students’ depression and suicide rates.

“College is certainly a mental strain, and that strain can quickly turn into a big problem,” said Andrea Bourne, one of the public relations managers for the organization. “Our goal is to help students become emotionally healthy before they reach the point of crisis.”

With the death of beloved actor and comedian Robin Williams still occupying many minds, the discussion on mental well-being comes at a poignant time.

Recently, The Jed Foundation has partnered with several familiar celebrity names like musician Macklemore and actress-musician Demi Lovato in the hopes to bring more awareness to depression in college students.

The guide was released in conjunction with World Suicide Prevention Day, on Sept. 10.

But many students who are suffering from depression are not getting the help they need, as explained by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

“They may not know where to go for help or they may believe that treatment won’t help,” according to the NIMH website.

The website also mentioned how others do not get help because they believe their symptoms are just part of the college stress or worry about being judged if they seek mental health care.

“When I was a freshman, I would constantly feel so tired and just really sad all of the time,” said sophomore communications major Peter Hull. “I thought that it was just normal to feel like that in college, until I started talking to my friends about it.”

Hull was in the same mindset as a lot of modern college students, according to Bourne. And while Hull eventually found help through his social circle, some students end up feeling lost when navigating stress and ultimately depression in college.

“Stress in college is common, of course. But there’s a point where it surpasses simple stress and starts to do serious damage to a student’s mental well-being,” Bourne said.

NIMH records major depressive disorder as one of the most common mental disorders in the U.S., with about 6.7 percent of adults suffering from it each year.

In addition, women are 70 percent more likely than men to experience depression in their lifetime, and how a person experiences depression can vary greatly with age and gender.

When women’s studies major Alia Kuykendall began attending Sacramento State in the fall of 2011, she had already been suffering from a milder form of depression in high school.

“The stress of coming to college just triggered something in me where I just got really hopeless,” Kuykendall said. “And I realized that if I wanted to keep wanting to get out of bed, I needed to get some help.”

After calling the Sac State help line, Kuykendall was referred to an on-campus counselor and was eventually prescribed a nine month regimen of anti-depressant medication.

Now that she has been off the medication for the past month, Kuykendall said she can recognize more clearly when she is feeling overwhelmed and can more accurately prevent herself from going under again.

“As soon as I start feeling bad, I know that I should start taking steps to mitigate that,” said Kuykendall, who now feels more comfortable reaching out to the people she trusts for help.

Depression can also act as a catalyst for a multitude of other mental health issues, according to Bourne.

“It will often co-occur with other disorders like anxiety, substance abuse, and eating disorders,” Bourne said. “So it’s incredibly important to the well-being of the student to recognize the onset of depression and seek help as soon as possible.”

In the meantime, it is recommended that college students always consider their own mental health, be supportive to their peers if they are suffering, and be aware of on-campus services where they can receive professional help.