Prachi Deshmukh
I reckon there is only one thing that makes me grieve for the living. Wondering, does life really have to be full of plights that seem unsolvable? I close my eyes as it gets colder and colder in my mind. I know better than to blame it all on one thing. Everything that leads to one serious mental disorder: depression.
Did you ever hear about the teen who looks out of the window to only feel a distant urge to close their eyes and go back to a dreamless sleep? They are always in their little dark room, never stepping a foot outside. They seem robotic, doing every task and performing every conversation according to the script.
Did you ever hear whispers of the revellers about the teen who “does nothing ever”? It faded away with time for you but pierced a new hole in their hearts; they do "nothing ever" because anything and everything feels worthless. They wish that they were born differently, because the way their mind is controlled by their thoughts is really hurtful.
Do you know how many suffer from this?
14% of 15 to 24 years old have reported feeling depressed or disinterested. Those 14% are the lives that do not want to live, they need help. Psychologists help them to find their purpose, and if not, they enable them to see their reasons to be alive for; they don’t have to live vicariously through the ones they are so desperately jealous of. They need help to guide themselves to the self-worth through their own voices.
We need to build an advanced understanding of mental illnesses; addressing the traditional fears and beliefs, understand more about what seems rational, and act upon to relinquish the irrational beliefs. We need to reinforce awareness regarding the appropriate treatment approach.
(The writer is student, Woodridge High School).