27 months ago, I was suffering from depression. 27 months ago, I was living day by day not knowing if I was going to survive. 27 months ago, I was so alone that I didn’t even notice the people around me. 27 months later, I’m here and alive. I’m proudly able to say that I’ve beaten depression.
At age fifteen, I wasn’t a comfortable person.
I hated conflict and I forgave too easily. I let friends use me and then dump me again. I hated being the center of attention. I allowed myself to go home and cry about things which weren’t worth crying about. I couldn’t even eat in front of people because I felt as if I’d be judged. I felt as though I was being constantly judged and scrutinized even though I wasn’t. I just wasn’t happy at that time and I felt hopeless. Recently, I read an article called ‘Why People with Depression Don’t Talk About Depression’ and it honestly broke my heart. As someone who has overcame depression, there is nothing I want more than for people to be able to talk to someone about what they’re going through and to feel that they are loved and that there is hope for them.
One of the reasons why I am where I am right now is because of the support system that I had behind me in the form of a best friend. She would talk through things with me. She made me have a more positive outlook on life. At this point, we’d only been friends for a couple of months and she supported me so much through things that it made it near impossible for me to relapse. A change of environment also helped me; I went to go to an all-girls school for five years and I knew it wasn’t a place that I belonged. I’m not putting down the school I used to go to, but I now attend a mixed sixth form and I’ve never felt happier because it is a much more positive environment
If you’re trying to learn about math, you wouldn’t go to an English tutor. Same way, if you’re trying to get through depression you should be talking to someone who’s gone through it. However, first and foremost you should talk to a professional. We can’t keep quiet about depression when the effects and outcomes can be so devastating.
We should be able to find support in those who have already been through what we’re going through.
Depression in our society isn’t taken seriously anymore; many people use it to describe an emotion. Anyone who has gone through depression knows that it is so much more than that. So please, if you’re out there and you know someone who has confided in you with the fact that they are depressed, the best thing you can do is take them seriously and treat them with love. We should now, more than ever, be treating people with love and kindness because you never know what they’re going through.
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