I'll be damned

chapter 1 - info on depression

why do people have such great expectations of life when in reality nothing happens the way you want. We all want to be remembered for the things we do.  In life we don't get to choose the people we hurt but we do get to choose who hurts you. We go through life caring what others think and feel about about you but we shouldnt we should be living in the moment not caring what others think if you want to love someone  the same sex the go ahead do that.

When i asked my friends what was the quickest and least painfull way to die was they gave me ways to die but not what i asked. When you start showing depressed symptoms people ask if you are okay then you reply with yeah im fine or yep im okay but they are lies we all know that but yet others dont really seem to care or understand. If you told your mum im depressed she'll reply with  oh its just a phase or stop being so dramatic . But its not, far from it actually .

Being depressed doesnt mean that you cant smile or laugh with your friends. Depression is not only a state of being sad, it is a disease that conquers the ability to feel emotion, whether good or bad, whatsoever. Depression not only involves the mind, it also involves the body and thoughts. In different cultures some complain of excessive headaches and extreme pain and this is identified as depression, moderate or otherwise.

Depression affects twenty percent of all Americans, some without even knowing it, at sometime during their lives. Depression is not a disease that only influences males or children of the age three to eleven. Every human being is prone to depression. Although women are three times more likely to become depressed than men, men are five times more likely to commit suicide when depressed than women. Some think that women have a less pleasing social role and their hormones make them more susceptible to depression. Men are more subject to keep their emotions bottled up inside of them because of their role in society and that they do not have the societys permission to express their feelings openly.

Although all age groups are open to depression, teenagers are the most common to be heard of being affected by the disease. This is probably because of peer pressure and the changes in their life. Although the rate of suicide as a whole has decreased in the past twenty five years, the fixed amount of suicide from those between fifteen and nineteen has sky rocketed and quadrupled. The number of deaths due to suicide each year is roughly the same number of deaths from AIDS.

Depressions cost to the United States economy every year is estimated at forty-four billion dollars. This disease is second only to cancer on the impact of our society. By itself depression can cause extreme sadness, anxiety, insomnia and even thoughts of suicide. And yet, we dont have a big organization to help the people who suffer from it. There is no Depression Society or American Depressed Associated. Why is this? Why dont the people of the United States put something together to support and guide the people who are suffering from depression?