There is only one thing that can cause worse trauma and heartache than losing a friend at a young age and that is losing a child, as a parent. Unfortunately, these go hand in hand. As you may lose your best friend, significant other or sibling at a young age, that individuals parents lose their child.
Adolescent to young adult death is not as common as the death of someone near or within the senior citizen demographic. However, there are several contributing factors as to why so many young individuals pass away. Adolescence to early adulthood is one of the most difficult periods in life, emotionally. Many individuals suffer bullying, heartbreak, separation of parents and even the death of a friend, sibling or parent. All of which can bring them to the point of depression.
Depression is a form of mental illness that can consume a person to the point where he or she may feel as if medication is the only thing that will assist helping him or her out of their current rut. According to Mayoclinic.org, "Antidepressants carry a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) black box warning about a risk of increased suicidal thinking and behavior in some individuals under the age of 25." This is a fact that most people do not realize.
We feel as if medicine is something that was created to improve our health, yet the side effects for some of the medications can increase symptoms for certain individuals. When prescribed antidepressants, it changes the way we feel. These medications are considered low risk of dependency and low potential for abuse, as they are a schedule IV narcotic. Yet they make us feel like we cannot live without them each day.
The month of May is Mental Health Awareness month. Depression is something that can take us to the lowest of lows, altering our mental health. It takes many lives each year, especially within this age bracket. If you have a friend or family member suffering from depression, the reason for it should not matter...
BE THERE FOR THEM AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. As someone who has suffered from depression in the past, I can honestly say I wouldn’t be on this Earth if it wasn’t for my family and friends reaching out when they knew I was struggling mentally, due to the loss of a friend. The last thing you want is to know you had a family member or friend, who was struggling with depression and lost that fight, after giving up and committing suicide. If you were really that individuals friend you will never let go of the guilt and remorse for not doing whatever it took to save your friend's life.
Another, much more accepted drug that takes many individuals in this age bracket is alcohol. Unfortunately, drinking and driving deaths are at an all-time high. As reported by the CDC, "Every day, 29 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This is one death every 50 minutes." This is a harsh reality. it almost makes you want to stay off the roads period.
Along with deaths occurring from vehicular negligence, there are also other types of alcohol involved deaths. These include injuries from drunken altercations, head trauma from falling while intoxicated, vomiting while asleep and choking, and alcohol poison from excessive consumption.
This is also the age group where deaths caused by violence occur most often. According to Urban.Org, "Homicide is most common between the ages of 18-24." This is an awful experience for any friend or family member to suffer from. Someone so young taken by another individual. In this scenario, there are usually two young lives lost, as the victim passes, and the aggressor spends life in prison if the justice system comes correct. I will save that for another day, however.
Then there are the rarities. Diseases like cancer or even dying from something as common, as influenza. This is horrible to think of. Someone so young and healthy can be struck down by a disease that no one saw coming, or by a disease that is such a commonality. It’s incredibly sad that this is even possible.
To quote Billy Joel, “Only the good die young.” This is something that will truly never make sense. Why are young people with so much promise and ambition taken at such an early age? We can ask ourselves why a million times, but we will never discover a true answer. “What ifs” will never bring this person back to you. The only thing you can do is remember the good times with this person, keep your head held high and push through each day until you meet that person again.
To quote the author, Jennifer Lee, “God gives his toughest battles, to his strongest soldiers.” So be strong, as that person does not want you to be weak for them, and believe that God took him or her to watch over us all.
