What do you think about when you hear the word depression?

Sadness? That's part of it.

Maybe you think of The Great Depression, which happened back in the 1930s.

350 million people worldwide suffer from depression, 16 million reside here in the USA.

Yet, depression is not taken very seriously. It's even romanticized quite often.

People often think depression is someone being sad all of the time or even just being lazy.

It's not.

Depression is staying in bed all day because you can't find the strength to face the world.

Depression is losing interest in activities you used to love. It is not taking a shower for days, maybe even weeks at a time, because again, you can't find the inner strength to get up and do anything.

Depression is losing friends because they don't want to deal with you anymore. It's laying there contemplating your own existence.

Depression is not a pretty girl staring out a window with perfect eyeliner streaks falling down her face.

Depression is not laziness. I don't like feeling this way. I want to get up and be happy and have fun. I guarantee no one else likes feeling this way either.

Depression is not something that can be cured just by "being happy." Like, what does that even mean? It's easy to say when you don't suffer from depression.

Something I've also noticed is how much depression is romanticized, or "poked at."

I often hear or see on social media "OMG I'm SO depressed right now!"

I have never in my life heard someone who actually suffers from depression talk like that. So, please stop. Take a seat. Don't make me reach through this screen.

Another big thing I have noticed, both with people who suffer and with people who don't, is what actually makes us happy. I know with myself when I find something that makes me truly happy, I want to hold onto it. I don't want to let it go.

But people don't seem to understand that, but I get it because they don't suffer. At the same time, making fun of someone for what they love is not OK.

Especially if you are a family member of that person. He or she finally found something that brings them even the slightest bit of joy. Let them enjoy it.

We need to start talking about depression more. It seems like it's almost taboo, and that is ridiculous. By simply asking if someone is OK, you could possibly save someone's life.

Depression quite literally takes a hold of people, and a lot of people never come out of it, and it's time we make a change.