BRIONA SAAS
Special to The Leader
Hello everyone! Welcome to the last week before spring break — how exciting! I apologize for bringing up a topic that’s not the happiest, but there is an important reason as to why I am. I believe if we all become a little more educated on the subject, then we can help more people around us. To me, helping others is a positive way to start off your break, and that will, in turn, make you feel good. What goes around comes around.
Let’s talk about depression. It’s a heavy topic to speak about, I know, but it’s very important to be aware of. Depression can start at any age and is a lot more common than you think. I became more aware of depression only after I came to college. To my surprise, some of the happiest people I got so lucky to know at school have experienced it.
My first month at college, I lost a loved one, had gone through rough break-up and was sad a lot due to being homesick. I never wanted to admit to being depressed, as I was always known as such a happy person. I had to face reality once my family and friends started to notice my decline, and the school’s therapist diagnosed me.
Not everyone with depression suffers from it 24/7. Some people with depression are good at hiding it and can find ways to distract themselves, which is why it’s sometimes hard to recognize. There are certain triggers that someone with depression experiences that can turn their mood from happy to sad in a second.
If you have depression yourself, or if you know someone with depression, it’s important to realize the trigger. The trigger is like a flag that tells your body and mind that its about to shut down and begin to feel empty again. If you or your friend is aware of these triggers, you can do things to prevent the sadness from taking hold, like having a keyword that jogs a memory that immediately makes you laugh. Distraction is key in this case.
Any significant event can cause depression: the loss of a loved one, conflicts with others, illness, abuse and even genetics. It’s important to understand what causes your depression in order to find the proper form of treatment. Treatment can be very successful if done correctly. Some treatment can be done in a natural way. For example, when working out, there are certain hormones released that make people happy.
In other cases of depression, a little more help is needed. Certain medications specialized for different types of depression are available, as well as are many free clinics. Fredonia provides its own free therapists that anyone can see at LoGrosso. If you have depression, it’s a good idea to talk to someone about it so that its not bottled up inside of you. Reaching out to a loved one or therapist is a good way to get some of the stress off your chest.
If you think you may have depression, know that you’re not alone and there are ways to find the best method of help for you. Don’t let it beat you, and never stop fighting.
It’s not an easy battle, I will tell you, but it’s possible to win. It took me almost three months to overcome it, but I did. I’m very fortunate to have overcome it quickly compared to most, who deal with depression for years. What helped me was finding an outlet, something that distracted me as well as made me happy.
I started my own blog where I wrote my feelings and advice about life and how to live it to the best of our abilities. I then turned that passion into writing for the newspaper. Quite possibly, if I didn’t go through that hard time in my life, you wouldn’t be reading this now. For that, I’m thankful.