Depression Epidemic by Jason Scott

                 Visualize losing the interest of activities you performed being taken over by a cold, numb, and dark feeling. You go through life day-by-day with no one to talk too because you feel like no one will understand. Depression thoughts are so impenetrable; it leads some people to personal harmful activity. These personal harmful activities may include drugs, alcoholism, loss of sleep, loss of hygenial care, or suicide. Outsiders may not care enough to help that person seek doctoral help or they may think that person is “weird”. Over “50 percent of all people who die by suicide suffer from major depression” (“Suicide claims more lives than war, murder, and natural disasters combined.”). Instead of judging, why not help? New depression patients are part of this epidemic every single day and we need to make a change.                                                                                       

                                              History

            Depression was first named “melancholia”. This epidemic started around the second millennium B.C., and many people thought it was caused by the possession of  demons (“Historical Understandings of Depression.”). The Babylonian, Chinese, Egyptian, Roman, and Greek doctors handled the idea of depression differently. The Babylonian, Chinese, and Egyptian decided that depression was a demonic type of illness and “exorcism techniques like starvation, beating, and restraint”  could help all of the “demons” vanish out of that particular human’s body (1) . The Greeks and Romans idea on depression was that it was more of a “psychological and biological” (1)  type of issue. “Gymnastics, massage, special diets, music, mixtures of donkey’s milk and poppy extract, and baths” was their way of treating depression (1) .

                                                                   Examples

            My Freshman year of high school I suffered two fractured tibial tubercles one on each leg. I started to really dedicate my time towards basketball, and this setback made me fall into one of the saddest times of my life. My doctor pronounced that it would be dangerous to try to function everyday by myself. Things like walking, taking showers standing up, and riding the bus to school in the morning was taken away from me my whole freshman year. This lead to me not eating as much, not talking, losing friends, staying at home not wanting to go anywhere, and most importantly not being able to play basketball.

            Kurt Cobain was one of America’s most unique type of artists. He spoke to his audience about his personal agony and tried to expunge the rockstar lifestyle image that the public prints about famous artists or well-known people. In one of his songs he sang, "If you die you're completely happy and your soul somewhere lives on. I'm not afraid of dying. Total peace after death, becoming someone else is the best hope I've got” (“Kurt Cobain Quotes”). Money and fame is not the key to happiness for everyone. Accepting the truth about ourselves sometimes can kill us.

                                                                   Solutions

               Their are many different ways to treat depression. Depression in some cases is a lifestyle and psychological problem:“Lifestyle changes are simple but powerful tools in the treatment of depression. Sometimes they might be all you need. Even if you need other treatment as well, making the right lifestyle changes can help lift depression faster—and prevent it from coming back“ (“Depression Treatment.”). Regular exercising, gaining social support on social networking, healthy nutrition, sleep, and managing stress levels all are simple ways to satiate depression levels physically. Psychologically speaking, building strong relationships, setting healthy boundaries for home, school, and/or work, and staying positive through the tough stages in life can help tremendously. A variety of therapeutic methods can also be used to help this epidemic: “Three of the more common methods used in depression treatment include cognitive behavioral therapy (behavior), interpersonal therapy (relationships), and psychodynamic therapy (emotions).” “(“Depression Treatment.”).

                                            Absurdity

  We all have our many different thoughts and opinions on why all species on earth exist. Three main questions are circulated around that causes debate. What is life’s meaning? What exists that could ever be a source of meaning? What is something deeply absurd about the human quest to find meaning? The most common answer to most highly-depressed humans has been to commit suicide. Suicide to those who have committed was away to distinguish all of their problems. Albert Camus believed, “The answer to why it is wrong to become suicidal due to depression comes from those who survived it. The same way we can’t be sure whether committing suicide is wrong, a depressed person can’t be sure whether committing suicide under such (or any) circumstances is right either. If we haven’t figured out life and death yet then why should a belief govern our decision to choose either of them?” (“Being Depressed, Being Suicidal and Being Albert Camus”). Suicide is a selfish-devilish feeling that helps that person individually but, quickly spreads to those around or close to that person. Life isn’t fair for everyone and their are many different ways to learn how to deal with the difficult issues presented in life.

                                                                  Conclusion

            Depression will not be gone anytime soon, and people going through this epidemic may feel like it will never go away. But, with the help of each other and other efficient types of treatment, we can at least lessen the contrary numbers over the years.