- Have you ever gotten to a point where you feel so low in life?
- Have you been picked on or bullied often and feel people don’t like you?
- Have you ever had times when you felt like you didn’t fit in, didn’t look the part, or felt marginalised?
I have felt some of these questions listed above, so have many others. Would you be right to say I was depressed? Hmm. The truth is, depression goes further than just feeling sad; it’s a mental illness that affects the way you think, feel, and act. Beyond sadness, it can interfere with your ability to work, study, eat, sleep, and enjoy life. In fact, just trying to get through the day can be overwhelming.
According to the World Health Organisation, there are over 264 million people affected by depression globally. At its worst, depression can lead to suicide close to 800 000 people die due to suicide every year; this makes it is the second leading cause of death among those who are 15 to 29 years old. Look, we all need to pay attention to our teenagers and youth.
Let me share a story about a girl; we’ll call her Jasmine. You see, Jasmine was a lovable, cheerful, and jovial girl! One would think she never had any challenging experience in life. Unfortunately, within one week, Jasmine lost a huge investment to a company that posed to be legal. She lost her sweet puppy, who was her only companion at home and to make it worse; she was diagnosed with cancer.
Despite her trying times, she still maintained her cheerful and upbeat spirit throughout the week and didn’t share her pains with anyone, even though she was always tired and entertained thoughts of suicide. Now tell me, do you think someone eventually noticed and talked her out of her suicidal thoughts? The answer is: No. She was found lying lifeless on the floor of her bedroom with tablets that were fentanyl adulterated. She left notes on the floor that contained her thoughts.
Her final words were “I just wanted to be happy.”
In the above excerpt, Jasmine was cheerful, so everyone thought she was doing great. Interestingly, there are many people like Jasmine. They wear a cheerful smile but carry grave sorrow in their hearts. If we are trained to be mentally aware, someone may have noticed that there was something off with Jasmine. Maybe.
If you’re a young adult, you’re at a tough stage of life. You may be juggling starting your career, managing your finances, navigating a romantic relationship, or merely trying to make it on your own for the first time. These things aren’t easy to do, and they don’t always work out right away. The popular saying that adulthood is hardest is true. So, if you feel down from time to time, that’s normal. Usually, those feelings go away over time. However, if they persist for an inordinate amount of time, making you struggle to function in your daily life because of your feelings, or leading to thoughts of ending your life, now is the time to seek help.
2020 itself has been laden with various life-threatening incidents.
The first half of the year crippled activities globally with the widespread of COVID -19, which led to a complete lockdown. The aftermath of the lockdown was an economic meltdown resulting in a loss of livelihood. In October, the Nigerian economy even worsened with the looting of private businesses and vandalisation of properties during nationwide protests. The turn of events this year is enough to make one suffer a psychological breakdown. If you think you need help, please seek help. I assure you, there is no shame in that.
