Depression Awareness Week

It’s officially Depression Awareness Week and I want to ask you to take time to either learn a little bit about this illness, or help raise awareness.

For a very common illness which will affect 1 in 5 people at some point in their lives 1. there are still ALOT of misconceptions about depression, and 2. people don’t realise the seriousness of it.

In case you didn’t know and you’re asking me now, what is depression?

It is the feeling of persistently feeling sad for more than a couple weeks accompanied by other symptoms. Read more about it by clicking on the link above.

Who gets depressed?

Depression can affect anyone. It does NOT discriminate. It doesn’t care who you are, what job you have, how qualified you are, or that you’re determined to be happy. You might be at risk of getting it if:

• It already runs in your family

• You have low self esteem

• You live with a long term illness

But you can also get depressed for no reason. Perhaps you’re one of those affected by a chemical imbalance in the brain, (particularly of the neuro transmitter serotonin which regulates our moods). Even if you don’t naturally have a lower amount of serotonin in your brain, if you get depressed it may lead to lower levels of this neurotransmitter, hence, the need sometimes for anti depressants.

So you see, it is a real illness caused by (or causing) physical changes in the body. It is not imagined, it is not feigned and there is no one remedy that works for everyone.

Make a difference

Stigma attached to depression often causes people to hide. And if people are hiding they cannot get the help they need to get better.

Instead, many give up.

More than 70% of recorded suicides are committed by people with depression. In the UK and Ireland alone  more than 2 young people commit suicide every day.

This reality came back to haunt me this week as my friend almost ended a statistic. But thankfully, she belongs to the charity Depression Alliance which provides key volunteer led support. We were able to get her medical help, and she remains in hospital recuperating.

I end now how I started. By asking you to do something to further this cause. Share some knowledge, learn about it, start a discussion, volunteer or donate to my fundraiser to raise money for Depression Alliance. It’s imperative to me because it is something I’ve lived since childhood.

I too have hidden, been ashamed, laid in hospital recovering from failed suicide attempts, been criticised and scorned, even by those meant to care for me. It’s taken me a long time to get to this place of talking openly because I realise someone has to, even if it’s not easy. Even one life saved is a difference made. The life saved could be someone you know even.

Thankyou for reading with an opened mind.

Gentle hugs 🙂

N.B. The Depict Depression fundraiser art competition is still opened. Prizes include Estee Lauder gift sets, book vouchers and Vicky Scott artwork. Deadline Wednesday 17th April 2013.