Depression is a serious problem in American society that can lead significant mental health issue to suicide–nearly 20% of people with untreated depression have a lifetime risk of suicide.
By definition, depression is a constant feeling of sadness and loss of interest in day to day activities. According to Mental Health America “depression affects about 8% of adults in the US every year”,“affects about 15% of teens ages 12-17 in the US.”
If you’ve never dealt with depression, you don’t know how hard it truly can be–drowning in thoughts all day, not being able to be happy, struggling to do things you would normally love to do. When you have depression you can’t control your feelings most of the time, causing deep sadness and often crying.
Depression is the leading cause for suicide. According to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital “more than 95% of people that kill themselves have depression or another mental or substance abuse disorder.”
It is very important to help people with depression. To help someone you can talk to the person and be there for them no matter what to make sure they know they are important. Ask them to do activities with you to get them out and have fun. Try to encourage them to get professional help but don’t force it. Be available to talk to whenever–episodes can happen anytime. Make sure they don’t feel alone.
National Network of Depression Center is where you can find all the hotlines and multiple resources you can use, but it is important to be patient and not force things.
If you are the person dealing with depression, it’s important to get help from other people, but don’t completely lean on them for help–you also need to help yourself.
To help yourself, don’t distance yourself from your life, stay in touch with your friends and family. Pick up exercising; according to Harvard Health Publishing it’s proven to lift your mood. Don’t shy away from difficult things. Stay away from alcohol and substance abuse because it only worsens the problem. Seek help from family, friends or a professional if you start to feel suicidal. If you start to feel suicidal call the hotline(988) as soon as possible.
Depression is experienced by over 2.8 million teenagers. If you think you are the only one, you are not. It’s okay to reach out for help to feel better.
