Foreword: So this essay was written by one of my students, aged 11. I ordinarily provide editorial advice to people before publishing their work, but wanted to leave it pretty much intact to preserve the child's voice behind the text- not that it is at all childlike! I share this, not just because I am very proud of her writing, but also to draw attention to the level of understanding and empathy for mental illness. If an 11-year-old child can have such a mature understanding of mental illness, the rest of us adults have no excuse for showing any less. DepressionDepression, what is it? Depression is a mental illness that causes you to feel sadness or have very little interest in doing activities. Two of my very close family members suffer from serious depression. Not only is it hard for them, but it is also hard for the people who have to watch them change from once-happy people into cheerless humans. I don’t know how to help them at all. It makes me feel so unhappy when I see them and they are not who they used to be. They are now a completely different person. This is what matters to me. Each day I see them, pale as a ghost. You don’t know what they will do next. Once I saw this person happy. I thought they were better. The next time I saw this person, they were unhappy. It’s like a seesaw with only one person on it. It stays the same but when you push really hard you go up but eventually you come down.
It is tough not knowing how to help. And not being able to help. You try but they neglect it. But you have to keep pushing forward even if they won’t budge. You have to keep on thinking that they will be okay someday just not today. As a society, I think we are supporting physical injuries more readily than mental injuries. Many people consider being depressed as an excuse or being weak. But let me tell you now, it is not. It is an increasing problem all over the world. As a society we need to have empathy for these people suffering from this problem. Telling them that they are weak or they’re lying is not going to fix anything at all. Our community is labelling people. We are sort of saying if you’re not happy something is wrong with you. These people second guess themselves and consider themselves depressed, leading to bigger problems. As a community, we need to start educating people of all ages on this serious topic. I think we need to do this because many people have different views on this particular subject. A lot of people don’t know how serious depression is. We need to change the way people think on the topic of depression. There are many ways you can prevent depression naturally. One of the ways to prevent being in a bad mood or being upset is to get enough sleep. Whether it’s serious depression or you are just not feeling very good, getting enough sleep will really boost your mood. Another really good way is to find a passion in life. Whether it’s a goal or a hobby, they are both really good reasons to get out of the house and live life to the fullest. Looking out for depression, in not only other people but yourself too, is a really good thing. Here are a few signs to look out for. Having restless sleeps. Having restless sleeps means you are usually stressed about something. Anxiety is another sign of depression. A second sign is not having an interest in activities that were once enjoyed. And the last sign, a loss of appetite. All these signs are a good reason to start doing some of the things that I mentioned in the paragraph above. Something I really want to emphasise is that if you have depression you are not alone. There is help everywhere. Whether it’s your family, friends or teachers, I am sure they will be willing to help. Do it for yourself, do it for us. From Olive
2 Comments
charles
10/25/2017 02:35:16 am
A very passionate, knowledgeable, and personal account of depression, its effects on close fam,ily and friends and how we all should be more compassionate and understanding for those with depression. Thanks Olive
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Anna
10/26/2017 12:55:32 am
Lovely essay Olive. I particularly liked your point that sometimes the things that we try do not help the way we hope they would and that this is no ones fault. We just accept it and keep trying. Your friends and family are lucky to have someone with your empathy in their lives.
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