Living With Depression and How To Get Through It
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Depression is a hard thing for a lot of people to talk about. In American alone, 17.3 million adults have depression in one year. Chances are everyone has dealt with depression at some point in their life, whether it was a friend with depression, a family member, or even yourself. I have depression, and it took me a long time to admit it. Therefore, I’m writing this to help those who struggle with depression and those who wish to help someone depressed. The first thing to keep in mind is that it is okay to be depressed. It’s not your fault, and you aren’t alone. Let’s start off with recognition.
Step One: Recognize You Have Depression
One of the toughest things with depression is recognizing it and admitting that you have it. I grew up depressed and wouldn’t admit it. My mom tried to help me by taking me to see a doctor. I denied that I had depression to the doctor and denied it for the next several years. I was sad, alone, and honestly scared. I was scared to tell anyone I was depressed because I thought that they would think I was insane or needed a therapist. For a shy girl like myself, talking one on one with a stranger is terrifying. After a while I realized, I needed help. I couldn’t go on life hating myself for no reason, thinking I’m not good enough for anything. So I told my mom, which brings me to my next point, talking about your depression.
Step Two: Talk About It
One of the best solutions to depression is to talk about it. You can talk with a parent, sibling, teacher, friend, or anyone who will listen. For me, I talked to my mom. I went to her and simply said “mom, I have depression.”. After confessing, she said in reply “yeah I know.” after that, she helped me. It feels so hard to tell somebody your struggling but it needs to be done. Once you tell someone a weight is lifted off your chest and you can finally breathe. The more you hide it the worse it gets so let it go. Tell someone you need help.
Step Three: Get Help
This is one of the easiest steps to depression because there are several options to get help in many different ways. I went to my doctor and got some medication for anxiety and depression. Of course, it…
