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myths

Myths about depression

#1. Depression is about feeling sad. 

Depression is way more than just feeling sad. Depression is when someone always has feelings of sadness. But depression is more complex than just feeling sad all the time, it involves physical symptoms such as a change in appetite and how much sleep. it also involves emotional symptoms such as feelings of worthlessness and always lost interest in the things they once enjoyed, they have no motivation to do anything. 

#2. Depression is temporary and will go away by itself.

Depression won't go away on it's own accord. It is a medical condition that needs treatment and support. If depression is left without treatment it'll get worse, it is important to seek help early so the symptoms don't become worse.  

#3. Depression needs medication to make it better.

There are a handful of ways depression can be treated, medication is one, talking to a councilor, lifestyle changes and many more. Different treatments work on different people, talking to a councilor might help one person while another can take medication and it works for them. It is best to talk to a mental health professional to find out more about different type of treatment.

#4. Depression only affects women.

Depression doesn't discriminate based upon age, gender, personality ect...Women reportedly suffer from depression twice as much as men, Depression does affect men as well. Men have a higher suicide rate than women do because certain cultures discourage men from talking about their feelings, asking for help and showing weakness.

#5.   Depression is no big deal, it's not serious.

Clinical depression is a very serious illness that affects a person's life. Students with clinical depression suffer in many ways, not only emotional pain but they can withdraw from their friends, have trouble getting things done, getting into conflicts with people and take dangerous risks, if they don't get help their whole future can be affected.

#6. You have to have a reason to be depressed.

People who have depression don't always have a reason to be depressed, as i've said before it's a chemical imbalance in the brain. You can't tell your brain to be happy or to be sad. There might be a reason that they don't know about and they may never  find out. there are lots of things that play a role in depression, which include things like genes, brain chemistry and medical conditions. 

In addition to physical causes, there are other, more surprising things that can lead to depression. They include daylight and seasons, social environment, and life events. Why can these things play a part in someone getting depression? They can affect the brain's neurotransmitters (chemicals in the brain that regulate mood).

A person's outlook also can influence depression. Are you a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty kind of person? Do you get easily upset or do things roll off your back? The way that people think about (and react to) the events in their lives also can affect depression.

As if that's not confusing enough, sometimes there's just no obvious reason why some people get depressed. But their depression can still be very real and upsetting. Depression is a health condition that needs treatment, just like asthma or diabetes.

^ taken from http://teenshealth.org/teen/your_mind/feeling_sad/why_depressed.html

Myths about self harm 

#1. Self harm is only cutting.

Self harm is when someone purposely hurts themselves. They could cut, scratch, pull their hair, punch themselves, burn and many more.

#2. Self harm is attempted suicide.

Self harm is a coping mechanism, it help people cope with the emotional pain they are going through. They are looking for a way to cope, not to escape.

#3. People who self harm are attention seeking.

People who self harm do it in secret, they don't want people to know about it, so they hide it. By the time people find out, the person has usually done it for a while. They only tell when they feel like they need the help. As i've said before, some people do do it for attention, but you only know about them because the people who are really struggling hide it. But when their secret comes out they are called an attention seeker. They might 'accidentally' flash a couple of scars as a cry for help, not for attention.

#4. You can stop self harming whenever you want.

Self harm can become an addiction to some people, once they've hurt  themselves when they are upset, angry or feel anything negative their body get's used to it and it's the only way they know how to cope with the emotional pain. telling someone to 'just stop' won't work, if anything it could alienate them even more. If you want them to stop you'll have to try and understand and support them. Most/all self harmers hate hurting themselves but they don't know any other way how to cope with their emotions. Think of it like smoking, smokers become addicted to the nicotine, and it's really hard to stop. Same goes for self harmers.

#5. You must enjoy it.

Nobody enjoys hurting themselves. They do it because they don't know how else they can release their emotions, they feel like they have to punnish themselves. It's like they feel that they are doing something right, they do it becuase they need to feel  something. if they had the choice to stop, they would stop.  

There are so many more but i'll stick to the 6 for depression and 5 for selfharm for now.

remember if you ever need someone to talk to i'm always here and happy to help you.

Stay Strong Beautiful People ♡ ♥ I love you all :) xx