Trigger Warning: This article contains content surrounding depression that may be triggering to some readers
Definition
The exact definition of depression is: "A mood disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal tendencies" (Merriam-Webster).
Prevention
One sentence can change a person's view on themselves and you can save a life. Think before you act. People need to know that there are other people that they can talk to that will help them. These people need to know they are loved and have something worth fighting for. When you bully someone else, you won't know who you are really hurting and how far that person has already been pushed.
Symptoms
People that suffer from depression are afraid to tell people how they feel because some believe that there would be repercussions for feeling this way. Usually, the happiest people are the ones that are hurting the most inside. Usually the people who try to help everyone are the ones who need the most help. The people who laugh at the inappropriate jokes are the ones who are not joking at all. People who are depressed are sick and need help.
Effects
Those with depression have the mentality that no one cares about them because they feel alone and hurt. People who have committed suicide are fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, cousins, grandchildren.. They were in pain and are those that are missed and loved everyday because they were unable to get the help they desperately needed.
Getting Help
Depression is not a weakness, but an illness. People who are depressed are not weak minded...they are sick. They fight everyday even when they feel like they don't matter or don't want to live anymore. If just one person tells those suffering with depression that they love and care about them, and that it's not weak to accept all of who you are and ask for help, that can change one person's life. They can learn to accept help and begin to heal.
Outcomes
Those that are depressed know they have at least one person who will care if they die. Depression does not make someone weak, it makes them brave and strong. People cry because they have been strong for way too long and need some type of release. They feel like they want to die, but they have the knowledge they are cared for and are brave enough to stay living. But there is one thing that is good when you hit rock bottom and that, my friend, is that there is no way to go but up.
Conclusion
Depression does not make someone weak. Depression is bravery because the person has not died. A person with depression is the strongest person in the room. They wake up every morning to fight the same demons that left them so tired the night before, and that is bravery. You will struggle everyday but without the struggle you won't ever discover your strength. You are brave and strong. Never forget you are loved and life is worth fighting for.
