By: Vera Suzette Saquian
“Having anxiety and depression is like being scared and tired at the same time. It’s the fear of failure, but no urge to be productive. It’s wanting friends, but hate socializing. It’s wanting to be alone, but not wanting to be lonely. It’s feeling everything at once then become paralyzingly numb.”
–Matt Haig of HeathyPlace.com
Depression is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how one feels. It gives a feeling of severe sadness, anxiety and loss of interest of things that one used to enjoy in life. This condition is rampant in the society nowadays and victims are mainly teens who are undergoing stress and traumatic experiences in life such as bullying, physical and mental abuse and sexual harassment. People who suffer from this mental condition tend to lose themselves in the process, making them pessimists, uninterested, uninspired and worse, they tend to think of ways to end their lives. Some would mistakenly accuse themselves of having depression because signs of this condition are similar to sadness. But the real thing is that depression is way worse than we think it is.
To raise awareness, the students of Asian International School of Aeronautics and Technology (AISAT) were given the chance to share their thoughts about depression last October 18, 2018 at Mais Hall, Homitori, Davao City. Ma’am Joyce Hernani, the invited speaker for the said even, discussed significant points that became an eye-opener to all the attendees.
The speaker pointed out that sadness has a trigger while depression is a condition in which a person suddenly feels down and uninterested without having any reasons or activator to feel such. People with depression are very unsociable and tend to sleep most of the time. On the other hand, there are those who are good in hiding their true feelings by being socially active. Why? Because these victims are longing for affection and attention from other individuals– feelings that they never received from people close to them such as their immediate family. With such mask, only few people can recognize them.
According to some studies, depression has a cure, but this antidote will only work if the person will try and help himself get over the condition. Depression is highly constructed, so one can also deconstruct it. It is hard, though, but it works.
Moreover, depressed people need affection, attention, and sense of familiarity. They need support from the people around them to help them regulate their emotioons and mindset. Ofcourse, not everyone will understand, but there will always be someone out there who will.
If you were in this situation, will you help yourself? or If you know someone who is suffering from this mental condition, will you be that person who will save them from further misery?Are you willing to become one of the cures of depression?
You can always act upon it and be part of the change that depressed people need.