One night I sat and scrolled through Facebook and stumbled upon pictures representing "Mental Illnesses". The pictures had oddly shaped people and what they feel on the inside with their mental illness. I could relate. I have depression, and I saw myself as that drawn picture. After a few moments of thought I continued on through Facebook without sharing it. Why? I didn't want people to know.
According to mayoclinic.org major depression is defined as a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. It affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems.
Depression is...weird in 2016. On one side we have people who actually have it. They are the people who stop smiling mid afternoon without reason, the people who have a harder and harder time getting themselves out of bed, the people who have thoughts of friends and family disliking them. On another side we have..I'm not sure what to call it, but let me describe it to you. These people brag about their mental illness. They will bring it up to purposely make you feel bad about it to get what they want. These people don't seek the help they need and use their depression as dumb excuses. These people make this mental disorder look like a joke, and quite frankly I'm sick of it.
Because of people like you I doubted my own depression for two years. Day in and day out I pushed it aside because one, it wasn't known as a good thing to have it (and I'm not talking about the negative mental effects), and two, I didn't want people to label me as an "attention seeker", because that's how it was looked at, a joke. I told myself, "This is how you're supposed to feel, everyone else is just better at handling it." I felt far behind my fellow classmates, like a late bloomer. I wasn't a late bloomer, there was just something wrong with my flower. I needed help.
After a few years of research and understanding I finally realized it was okay to have depression. That also came with the negative side of it being the people who don't take it seriously. It's 2016 and I am still seeing posts, articles and blogs about taking depression seriously. I shouldn't have to see this happening. It's not "all in my head" and it's certainly not an "off" day either. But because people think it's "cool" and "mainstream" to have depression millions of people won't believe the ones who really need help.
About 25 million Americans suffer from depression each year, and over 50 percent of them commit suicide. That's the eleventh leading cause of death and the US and the third with people between fifteen and twenty four. Is this "cool" enough for you?
I'm not here to bash people who have depression and choose to express themselves about it. It takes A LOT of courage to be able to do that, and I applaud you, but if you do have it, don't use it as every excuse under the sun to get away with being a rotten person. Don't use it to get what you want. You're not helping us out in anyway.
If you really want depression that bad, if you really think it's "cool" then take mine, because I sure as hell don't want it.
