People often define depression as simply sadness, or a period of unhappiness that is not something to worry about. Many even believe that depression is a choice and that it's all in your head and can easily be fixed if you're just "more optimistic."
The thing is, depression is not so simple nor trivial.
Every year, one million people commit suicide worldwide. To put that into perspective, that's about 3,000 people killing themselves every single day. With such a large number of people succumbing to the worst effects of depression, it's time we take it seriously. People are afraid to admit they're depressed, and they're afraid to mention when they're feeling suicidal.
We as a society have to do more to open our arms to people in need because they're not doing it for attention or out of their own choice. They deserve treatment and help the same way anyone else does, and it shouldn't be trivialized.
People that are depressed and/or suicidal are not selfish people. They don't act that way because they don't care for their loved ones — they act that way because they don't think it'll make a difference.
They don't believe they matter, or they believe people would be better off without them.
We as a society have to do more to show that every single person matters. Those of us that aren't suffering from depression have to show those that are that they're important. To do that, we have to start with the government.
President Trump has repeatedly addressed the importance of mental health services and promised to increase funding for its services, but has yet to substantially help the cause.
While helping the cause in some manners, such as providing large funds to help curb opioid addictions, he is impeding the progress of mental health services in other ways. His opposition to providing effective health care for people with mental health problems is a major obstacle to those that need help for their depression or suicidal thoughts.
Many places in America still lack proper mental health services, and the government is not doing enough to address that issue. We need more accessibility of help for those that need it.
