But Kahn came to the university's Graham Chapel Tuesday to tell an audience of about 250, mostly students, that she had struggled with depression since she was a sophomore in high school and largely overcame it.

Her message: You don't have to live with it. There's help.

"With therapy, anti-depressants and support of family and friends, you can go on with life," Kahn said.

"Real World" viewers already know about Kahn's struggle. Her depression became a subject of the reality show, which placed her and six other 20-somethings in a house for several months of taping last year and later aired as 24 episodes.

Kahn has since been hired by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, maker of the anti-depressant she takes, to headline a program about depression that the company plans to present on college campuses. Washington University was the first.

The tactic has struck some observers as crassly opportunistic. Boston Globe columnist Alex Beam blasted Wyeth and other drug companies for "brazen marketing of depression to innocents at home and abroad."

Wyeth defends itself as only trying to raise awareness of what it says is a major and largely undiagnosed problem. The company's Web site says about 1.5 million college students have depression. College health centers try hard to help with depression, said Wyeth spokesman Doug Petkus, "but the biggest challenge is getting people to come and talk about it."

Dr. Laurie Reitman, director of Washington University's health center, said she "had a concern about the drug company seeing this as an untapped market and coming in here and proselytizing." But Kahn and the company promised the program would be educational and that Kahn would mention its anti-depressant only in reply to a direct question.

Kahn stayed true to that promise in her 10-minute talk Tuesday. She briefly mentioned the "Real World" and elaborated on her depression - she felt sad for no apparent reason, like walking around with "dark glasses on." Pearl Serota, a staff psychiatrist with Washington University's counseling service, also spoke, discussing the symptoms of depression and treatment alternatives like anti-depressants and "talk" therapy.

Reitman and Tom Brounk, the university's associate director for counseling services, decided that Kahn's visit would be a chance for students to learn about depression and screening, counseling and referrals the university offers.

Several students at Tuesday's program said they're familiar with depression but came to hear Kahn speak. Some students who stayed expressed disagreement with what had been said - that depression is a disease, anti-depressants can be good and so many college students are depressed. Mike Pospishil, a senior, said he was skeptical of the talk after hearing a pharmaceutical company was sponsoring it.

"Some people have to stick it out," Pospishil said. "You're not going to be happy all the time. A lot of anti-depressant publicity will make people, who don't really need it, go to therapy."

Diane Freppon, a recent Washington University graduate, said the program didn't push the use of anti-depressants and Kahn could inspire others who are depressed.

"You could see she's pretty, seems all together but is depressed," Freppon said. "Then you could think, 'Maybe I'm not so abnormal'."


Reporter Susan C. Thomson; E-mail: sthomson@post-dispatch.com; Phone: 314-209-1315
Reporter Sarah Trotto; E-mail: strotto@post-dispatch.com; Phone: 314-340-8337
Copyright 2002, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Inc.
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