I think everyone has had that feeling of emptiness and sadness from time to time, an unexplainable feeling of being alone and having constant anxiety. Feeling depressed and hopeless is a feeling I would never wish upon someone. There are 350 million people in the world that suffer from depression. Now would you think that people just facade the idea of being depressed or is it actually real?

You never truly know what someone is going through in their life. You constantly hear about these kids that are so severely depressed that they end up committing suicide or try hurting themselves, and no one even knows or notices that there was anything even wrong. It affects everyone, not even just the specific person that is depressed. The people surrounding that person also feel hopeless because they want to help but sometimes it's hard to know what to do. That’s why it’s important to be nice to everyone. You don’t have to like the person or even talk to them, but it’s important to be nice. You don't actually know what people are going through and what you say or do can potentially save a life.

It’s very hard to explain to someone how you’re feeling when you’re depressed. It’s a very personal feeling and sometimes embarrassing to talk about because it’s not a normal feeling to always feel down and sad. The most common thing you hear is, “Oh you’re just being emotional, I’m sure you’re fine.” When really, you’re trying so hard to feel fine and okay that sometimes it’s impossible to show that or even fake that feeling. It’s very confusing going through that constant feeling of hopelessness. You try to do everything in your power to change it. You go to therapy appointments, you take antidepressants, you try to eat healthier, try new things, or whatever it may be, just to try to feel okay again. And sometimes even that isn’t enough and you still feel the same. You then gain a sense of anxiety and a million thoughts swarm in your head wondering if this feeling will ever go away or when will things get better. You think why am I like this and why doesn't anyone understand? You feel like a complete different person. It almost feels like it's a never ending cycle. How do you explain that to someone? How couldn’t you think depression isn’t real? If it affects all these people in the world so differently, it’s hard to not think that this isn’t real, when it is in fact a mental illness.

Having the right people in your life makes it so much better in my opinion. Just knowing you can have someone to talk to, whether it's a therapist, a friend, a family member, really anyone. To have that trust with someone to talk about how you feel, when you're feeling the lowest of low, makes you feel less empty and alone. Even when you think you're all alone, everyone needs to remember there is always someone there who cares and is willing to be there for you. It's hard going through anything alone so why should anyone put themselves through that? Having a mental illness is very serious and it's hard to not think it's real when it feels beyond real and affects so many people in the world.