Depression

For day 5 of Mental Illness Awareness Week, Mental Health America is focusing on depression. This draws more attention from me, and is the focus behind starting this blog, since I have dealt with depression my entire life. I could spend hours writing about this here and barely scratch the surface, but I think I will continue to break it down over time. I just hope there are people who can benefit from what I have to say.

There are many different causes of depression, and many different treatments. I have brought up the stigma behind depression many times, but we need to understand that depression is not a sign of weakness. It is a serious medical condition, such as diabetes or epilepsy. I don’t think anyone would see someone as weak for having an illness such as those, so the same view should be taken on depression.

According to MHA, only about a third of people suffering from severe depression seek treatment from a mental health professional. Many people across the world commit suicide every day. This is more prevalent among veterans, police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical professionals. We must recognize this as a major concern and take notice. This has to be stopped. We have to spread the word and let people who struggle know that they are not alone and there are people who want to help. Anyone who struggles should not be seen as a burden.

For me, personally, I want to help people who struggle as I do. I want them to reach out to me. I will not look down on anyone who asks for help. It takes a strong person to admit they need help, and I want to be someone they are comfortable coming to. This is something I WANT to do, and I hope you do too.