So you have this friend named Sam. One day, Sam breaks his leg and is in a lot of pain. You understand because it's a broken bone and it's got to hurt like crazy, so you sympathize with Sam. You make sure he has everything that he needs. You take care of him. It ends up taking Sam a lot longer to heal than the doctors had originally thought, and a lot of the time the pain meds don't really do a whole lot so he's complaining to you every other day and really isn't acting like himself. But you still stay by Sam's side. You make sure that you are being as supportive and helpful as you can possibly be. Sam's your friend, right?

Would you tell Sam to get over his broken leg? Would you tell him the pain is just a mental thing and that he should just get over it? Would you tell everyone you know that "Sam never does anything anymore; he's always complaining about his broken leg?" Most halfway decent human beings would not.

If we wouldn't tell a person with a physical illness to get over it, why do we say that to people with mental illnesses?

For some reason, we take great care to be considerate and empathetic toward individuals with physical illnesses, but when it comes to depression we seem to throw all compassion out the window. We tell people with depression to "just be happy."

Newsflash—it is not that easy.

It is all too common to hear people talk about depression like it's a choice. Like depressed individuals actually like feeling like their entire world is crumbling to pieces around them. Let me put things into perspective for you. For some people who are depressed, it's like they are standing on a thin sheet of ice that is webbed with cracks; ice that could shatter and disappear into the cold depths at any moment and carry them away with it. Depression isn't a choice, so please stop treating it like it is.

Just the other day I heard from one of my friends who struggles with depression that her teacher did not understand why she couldn't just figure things out in class because other kids with depression had gotten through it. But depression isn't that simple. It's just as complicated as broken bones or diseases, and for many it is so much worse than anything that could be fixed by a splint and some physical therapy.

Depression is a serious illness, but we are so slow at recognizing it as a society. How can we be so ignorant that we tell people with depression that they can get better if they just think happy thoughts? Sorry, but this isn't freaking Neverland. Again and again, I hear people saying hurtful things like "Why are you depressed, your life is fine" or "You aren't depressed, you just want attention" or "There are people who are much worse off than you." How is this acceptable in our society?

There's an ad I saw floating around on Facebook the other day, and it tells the story of a girl with cancer. All the people close to her in her life tell her awful things about her behavior in regards to her illness, but then the ending message reads "You'd never talk like this to someone with cancer. Don't talk like this to someone with depression." It's kind of a wake-up call for many who have yet to realize the seriousness of depression. Ads like this are helping to raise awareness for depression, and it is efforts like this that will educated people on how crippling depression is.

If you still aren't sold that depression is more than feeling a little sad every once in a while, look at the facts. Over 14.8 million Americans adults suffer from major depressive disorder. One in 33 children and 1 in 8 adolescents have clinical depression.

But don't just take it from me, open up a cute little browser window and search depression statistics. You'll be shocked to see the reality that is depression. Talk to someone who has had or still has depression, and you will come to understand their struggle. There's a quote about depression that says, "It's like drowning. Except you can see everyone around you breathing," and if you don't think depression is real and that it is serious, imagine yourself living in that quote. Take depression seriously and stop being cruel to individuals with depression. Believe me, they already loathe themselves enough as is.

And if you are reading this and you have depression, know you aren't alone. You are so strong and I know it's hard, but don't give up. Always keep fighting. Do it for me. Do it for your friends. Do it for your family. Do it for you. You'll make it to the day that you can look back on this like it was all a bad dream, and you will be so proud of yourself for making it through. Keep on trekking, and I promise there are better days ahead.