Personal Narrative: Living With Depression

Improved Essays
In 2013, over 2.6 million adolescents ages 12-17 in the U.S. were estimated to have had at least one major depressive episode (National Institute of Mental Health). That is nearly 11% of the youth in this country. Blinded by my own depression, I never realized the myriad of people experiencing the same thing. Everywhere we look there is a person going through hardship. When faced with challenges in life you have to find your own way out and though depression is a debilitating disease that often goes overlooked, I found my way out.
Depression has such a vast array of ways in which it is able to manifest that to only recognize it in people who fit the stereotype of not getting out of bed and being “really sad” is a problem and can actually be
…show more content…
I often just thought it was in my head and that I was making it up. While yes, it was most certainly was my head because it a mental illness, I was not making it up. That is how I felt, though, crazy and melodramatic for sheltering this horrible thing inside my chest and my chest was not its only home, either. It was the weight dragging down my legs with each step, the numbness in my hands that got in the way of doing the things I loved, it was the heaviness of my eyelids that made it impossible to focus. Depression is a murderer of all things happy that labels itself blameless and you guilty. How was I supposed to explain all of that and have someone understand? The thing is, nobody can understand it. It is something that I went through and I …show more content…
Suddenly I had to be okay for my family and my friends and everyone else in my life. Everyone’s good intentions in order to fix me were blanketed in fear and controlling behaviors and it was suffocating me. Suddenly it had gone from being my own little secret to something that belonged to everybody else, something that I had no control over. The one thing that kept me going was the thing I lost when came out and along with it went friends and other bits of my life that I loved.
There is this stigma around acknowledging that children can have depression. So I never thought it was even possible for me to have it. I had a roof over my head and food in my stomach. If I had been able to tell someone early on I would have lost so much, but there is nobody there to wave a red flag when you have crossed over the line from a healthy amount of stress and sadness into an unhealthy amount. When you want to change something something you want to change, you have to be the one to get up and go change

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Depression affects 11% of adolescents during the teenage years. Across America, depression is one of the highest diagnosed mental illnesses. With the rising stress levels of day to day life, more teenagers are getting diagnosed with this mental illness. Depression is not just simple sadness; it is a mental illness that restricts many people from performing to their highest capabilities. Each individual handles depression in different ways.…

    • 1185 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    1-in-4 Teens "1-in-4 teens deals with depression" read the signs all around the school. It 's an epidemic, looking around on a daily basis i would never have guessed the proportion to be so staggering. But that 's the thing about depression, it doesn 't manifest itself physically, it 's a cold chill that sweeps across the room. The subtle and strangely comforting hand of death hanging to your every action with crippling grip. "1-in-4 teens" is a powerful statistic; the implications of such a number break down social constructs of stereotypes and dares to speak out about a topic long considered taboo.…

    • 1295 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    An estimated 350 million people of all ages around the world suffer from depression. Depression is very different from when you just get sad sometimes or have a reaction to a challenge,depression changes how you feel every second of the day, it's not short lived. It is a very common mental disorder, characterized by sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, feelings of tiredness, and poor concentration. Although we know many effective treatments for depression fewer than half and in some countries fewer than ten percent affected by depression receive these treatments. Many people can't get to effective care because,first a lack of resources, lack of trained health care providers,…

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Halls of Spring Tears Everything seems gloomy and void of hope when foreboding clouds hang over one’s head, particularly for the young. Mostly, those clouds dissipate after a while, but for some, it takes stronger methods to force them away before they let loose their torrents of premature rain. This same situation holds true with countless cases of adolescent depression that can not be driven away by therapy and placebos. Antidepressants can be imperative for teenagers with depression through reassurance that their disease is curable, benefits not offered by other forms of treatment, and preventing possible fatality.…

    • 1857 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Depression is known as “the common cold of mental illness.” In psychology we use our brains to process certain behavioral activities. If one is not behaving normally it can be hard to observe the person’s actual actions due to them not being able to…

    • 1665 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Access To Health Care

    • 1516 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Access to Healthcare is important in maintaining one’s health. With changes in the law and policies that govern healthcare such as the Affordable Care Act recently enacted, more and more individuals are being afforded the opportunity to obtain health insurance and seek medical attention. Over the years however, an area in the healthcare industry that has been left behind in seeing significant changes in regards to healthcare access is in Mental Health. Although today more Americans have access to health insurance, getting access to mental health services is still challenging, even more so for youth suffering with mental health illnesses. Laws such as the Affordable Care Act have recognized treatment of mental health disorders and have integrated…

    • 1516 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to “An Evolved View Of Depression” by Jonathan Rottenberg, “13 Million” American adults are struggling with depression” as of right this moment, and that is just counting American adults. (Rottenberg 1). Many people do not see the extremities of depression, or just how many people it affects from all over the world. With that being said, depression is a very serious issue and everybody should have a clear understanding about the illness itself and what causes this life altering disease. From an outside perspective, it is clear to see that depression can be caused from traumatic life events, but that is not the only cause of depression.…

    • 1296 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Depression is a serious thing that impacts many lives, and it should be discussed so people can find help. The author of “Understanding Depression” McCoy (2016) says, “Many American adults experience depression, almost 6.7% do. 6.7% would be about 14.8 million adults” (par.1). Depression causes one to lose the desire for things they once loved or enjoyed doing.…

    • 735 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I awake to a narrow beam of sunlight that penetrates the closed shades of the window in my dorm room. It lets me know it is late in the morning if not already afternoon, but the time means little to me. I am still unable to vocalize this feeling I awake with so often. I know only that the prospect of getting out of bed feels insurmountable. I roll under my covers for a few more minutes of sleep, but when I look at the clock again, hours have passed.…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    June 2010, I had been diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, and have now been on anti-depressants for over seven years. Unlike many people that I know, my depression didn’t subside once I left my teen years, though I have managed to lower my dosage intake. I don’t know if I will ever be able to go off my medication completely and I am still terrified by the prospect of going back to the way I used to be, before I got my medication. Those days were difficult and each moment felt so oppressive.…

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Teen Depression and Anxiety: Why kids are not alright. Cadet Byington C. Science of Flight SMSgt Seipert Utah Military Academy Teen depression and anxiety: why kids are not alright. Teens today have the reputation for being more fragile than their parents and less resilient.…

    • 1389 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Public awareness of the effects of a lack of treatment for mental disorders is important to help those struggling with these disorders. Psychologists and other mental health care professionals see mental disorders, especially depression, as the horrible diseases that they are, and not just something that can be handled without professional help. This research is necessary in helping to prevent the suffering of those with depression by urging them to get help, instead of just struggling in silence. The purpose of this research is to show that many people, including children who rely on others to get the help that they need, often need assistance in getting the help with mental disorders that they deserve? Mental disorders such as depression are stigmatized in today 's culture, which leads to a lack of treatment or delay in treatment, an increase in suicide, and often other issues such…

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    When someone who has not experienced depression thinks about it, they don’t think of the toll it takes on you. They don’t think about how much it affects you; they only imagine it as being sad and down all the time. Depression comes with much more serious effects and is presented in…

    • 1153 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Eventually I start questioning everything. Would I be better off dead? Would anyone miss me? Would they even notice? People who do not have depression do not seem to understand it.…

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Depression and anxiety are very tough disorders to go through, and more often than not, teenagers are not feeling the acceptance they need. There are several ways in which one can help these suffering teens feel loved; for example, psychotherapy is a major method used. Psychotherapy is otherwise known as “talk therapy”. It allows for those who have depression and/or anxiety to talk out their problems with someone they trust. Being able to freely speak about their problems is great way for teenagers to figure out long term solutions for their mental illness.…

    • 1796 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays