I feel I need to say:

How many people in the world do you think suffer from depression? According to the book More than Moody: Recognizing and Treating Adolescent Depression by Dr. Harold. S. Koplewiez, upwards of 40 million Americans suffer from depression, with approximately 3.5 million of those being children. Does that number boggle your mind? How about when viewed in light of the fact that there are, according to the US Census, approximately 310 million US citizens. That means approximately 10% of our nation suffers from depression AND are being treated for it. There could be many more who are not diagnosed with depression because they cannot afford medical attention or because they don't feel they need to see a professional.
What is depression? According to Psychologists and medical professionals it is a chemical imbalance in the brain, a lack of equivalent exchange, if you will, of the chemicals and hormones that create feelings of happiness and/ or sadness.
Why can't people just be happy? It doesn't make sense does it? Each person is in charge of how they feel, right? We've all heard people tell us that we make ourselves happy or sad. But it isn't always that easy. Ask anyone with depression. It's a struggle to live sometimes. It can be crippling. Why do you think the suicide rate in our nation is so high? According to one source the suicide rate in the US in 2000 was 10.6 in 100,000.
This is mind boggling to me! How can we support this? As I mentioned in my first post, I have suffered from depression. At one point in my life I was on medicine and seeing a counselor because I was a cutter. I also contemplated suicide on a daily basis. My family raised me to be religious and I remember praying every day, several times a day even, pleading with God to take my life. I didn't want to be in pain any more. I wanted it all to end. I sobbed and sobbed, telling God I just couldn't take it any more and that I was ready to do whatever I needed to in order to die.
Luckily for me God had other plans because every one of my attempts failed miserably. Either that or I was secretly a chicken. I'm thinking a combination of both was in order. Regardless, I digress.
I doubt many people who know me now would ever suspect I had such problems with my life, but I did. My mother and father are both diagnosed with depression, as is one of my sisters and one of my brothers. Out of the five children in my family, four of us are cutters or recovering cutters and three of us have been in therapy and on medicine for depression.
I know there are many out there who don't believe that depression is a real illness, but let me tell you, it is as real as I am. It is just as terrifying and as misunderstood as cancer. It has no cure and it cripples like nothing you have felt before.

Take note of the people in your lives who have depression and look closely at how you treat them. Do you disregard their pain and suffering? Or do you take the time to find out what is really going on? I know it is hard to be around people who are depressed sometimes, but sometimes they need a little love too. Won't you step up with me and try to raise awareness? Until there is a cure for depression, let's hope for a better tomorrow for our loved ones who suffer. And if you suffer from depression, know that you are not alone. I know it feels like it. I know that you are wallowing in self-hate and wish everything was different, but remember that things can change. And there is a brighter tomorrow waiting out there somewhere. You are loved.
What is the hardest thing for you to deal with in regards to depression? Weather you've had depression for only a day or for a lifetime, what is the worst?
~Mika