Searcy(LP) Throughout the world, people are struggling daily with one, if not multiple, mental illnesses. Some of these individuals have been diagnosed as a result of symptoms they exhibit, while others struggle in silence. For those that have received help, life slowly looks brighter for them, while loved ones work to help in any way possible. Depression may be present when a child has a irritable mood for most of the day. A teeanager may say they feel sad or angry or may look more tearful or cranky. They might not enjoy things that used to make them happy. A significant change in weight or eating,either up or down, can be a sign. Major depression is one of the most common illness, affecting 6.7 percent (more than 16 million) of American people each year. They lose their pleasure on daily life. Many teenagers are diagnosed with depression and according to the web a teen takes their life away every 100 minutes. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people ages to 15-24. About 20 percent of teens experience depression before they reach adulthood. Royce Thompson said ” I don’t know why I feel depression. It sort of has no reason. I honestly don’t know how to make it go away. I just learned it as a way of life. I mostly deal with it by shutting down until I break and talk to a friend.”
Before puberty boys and girls are equally likely to develop depressive disorders. After age 14, however, females are twice as likely as males to have major depression or mild depression. There are multiple reasons why a teenager might become depressed. For example, teens can develop feelings of worthlessness and lack over their grades. School performance, social status with peers, sexual orientation, or family life can each have a major effect on how a teen feels. Having issues that negatively impact self-esteem, such as being overweight, having peer problems, long-term bullying or academic problems. Ethan Million said “I have depression because of my family matters, they make it feel like it’s my fault, I want the depression to end. The way I deal with it is by drawing, listening to music and try to avoid conflict with family.” The teen years can be tough, and it’s perfectly normal to be sad or irritable every now or then. But if these feelings don’t go away or become so intense that you can’t handle them, you may be suffering from depression. The good news is that you really don’t have to feel this way. Help is available but if you don’t want to talk about it, then just write it down and show it to an adult that you trust. You have more power over your mood than you think.
Michael Williams said “The biggest thing I think anyone can do for someone who is battling depression is to be a source of support for them. Sometimes I think people feel like they have to say some magic words to help solve someone’s depression, but often times listening is more important and helpful and anything you can say,very rarely can someone “fix” or “solve” another person’s depression. For me, I just try to listen to students who come into the office feeling depressed, let them know they have several sources of support at school, and be a source of encouragement. Everybody experiences some mountains and valleys throughout their life. I have had some low points in my life, but I don’t think I have gone through depression. If I have, it was not severe depression. When I was going through the rough points in life, I had to remind myself to keep pushing forward and continue on with my daily schedule. I couldn’t sit back and think about how I felt because that would make things worse.” There is always another solution even if you can’t see it right now. Remember that no matter how horrible you feel these emotion will pass.
