MENTAL HEALTH (Anxiety/Depression)

 

(I don't own copyright to the above picture)

“How are you?” 

This is how we all start a conversation.. It is something we are all used to, so sometimes we find ourselves responding “I'm Alright thanks,” before we can even think about whether this is how you really feel or not... Many are times I've been asked this question and just respond for the sake of responding, you can admit that this is true, we do this sometimes without even realizing.

So today I thought of adressing the big issue “MENTAL HEALTH” which has been a pressing topic on most internet sites and I think to some extent, it has been highly ignored even worsening certain conditions and sadly lives have been lost too. This is going to be quite lengthy so please find time to read till the end.😊🙏🏽

Depression and anxiety have been a  common thing among young people but sadly to a point where the majority of us have failed to notice and actually ignore the fact that someone is going through the depression/anxiety phase.. I guess this happens because it is hard for some people to open up or maybe we just always want to look at the good side and don't totally pay attention to what's going on with our peers.

(I don't own copyright to the above picture)

I do remember experiencing severe anxiety during my high school exams. It was so bad that I failed to sleep and one day, i was was 30 minutes late for one of my final exam papers cause of the pressure of academic expectation which was immense... Also at some point I lived with the depression of losing  my close friends in school. Do you know the depression that comes with thinking about how all of a sudden your friends think you're not on the same level with them anymore? I felt that and it hit me so hard.. I dealt with it for a while, didn't have the courage to talk to anyone and at some point I hated going to school because I felt so alone but still had to go either way.. How did I deal with it? I didn't know how to so I just lived with it and obviously healed cause “some” of my friends came around 😅

So I wonder.. does anxiety/depression come from within, just as it is a symptom of some of the pressure we go through? 

Depression/anxiety has become very common and serious that it negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Some of the causes to these may be the losing someone you once loved, abuse, trauma, stress, big life changes, persistent feelings of sadness or an empty mood, low energy, trouble to l concentrate, the list is endless...

In as much as we try to ignore this, depression/anxiety is very real and yes! the stigma that it comes with has continued to be a barrier to treatment while the consequences of delayed treatment or no treatment at all for one's depression can lead to suicidal thoughts. 💔🥺

We need to understand that depression is not choosy, it can happen to anyone.

There are people that choose to hurt themselves to feel better over talking to someone about their problems because they are afraid of being stigmatized...TRUST is one key thing here, if they opened up to you, they're afraid they will hear about their problems from other people making it difficult for them to face the world while feeling that it is okay because no one knows about it but deep down they're dying to scream at someone for help!

This is not the right way to go about it.. In my opinion I feel talking to trusted friends, family, therapists about how you feel is very important, please Just don’t keep quiet about it...Keep yourself busy if you can, read books, do some exercise, listen to music, another thing you can consider is crying. You are not weak when you cry, cry as much as you need to until you feel better, it will suppress your pain and anguish, lastly you can also consider saying a prayer, God listens and definitely find a solution in one way or the other..Just don't keep quiet about it!

It may be impossible to help every single depressed person, but we can make it posible to reduce some of these situations, Make it a habit to check on your friends/ family and make sure they're okay.

We need to address these issues and take action because if we don't then nobody else will.

THANK YOU FOR READING! 

Abigail Chifusa.

(Please feel free to share the link, share your comments too, make them anonymous if that makes you feel comfortable.. what is your take on MENTAL HEALTH (DEPRESSION/ ANXIETY?..)

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