Depression and Suicide - The Mute Boogieman Under the Bed

I was going to write about how this is a thing that parents don't look for but is there in every teenager.

I was going to write about that cyber bullying is a thing that our parents never had to face therefore they aren't aware of it nor prepare their children to face it.

I was going to write about that many parents aren't aware of the fact that many kids need help because of their mental state. Not entirely because they don't want to, but rather because the kids are also scared to tell. 

I was going to write about the snowball effect that many kids need to deal with when their reputation takes a blow.

I was going to write, but then I came across a video. This video will tell it all.

Please only continue reading after you have watched the video.

There are many many things that parents now days cannot relate to: social media all around, smartphones, and also the expectations that are set front of us aren't the same as they had to face. Even schools teach different, more material than they were taught.

Also, they are teenagers. Most of their mood swings feel like it is going to last forever for them. When they are first in love it feels like that is the person they wanna marry, then there is the fist heartbreak that feels like it will never get better.

Biologically their brains work differently than adult brains. More intensely... that is hard to relate to as a parent, because you just cannot put yourself in the shoes of your kids because that level of hurt doesn't necessarily exist to you.

There is also a problem that many teenagers refuse to tell their parents when something is really wrong.

And sometimes some kids just really have a shitty life and they cannot help themselves and fall into depression.

When a teen is depressed its not anything like adult depression. Its not that you cannot feel anything and feel empty. It is the eternal sadness that you think will never end, meanwhile you feel you are missing a piece of yourself and panic that you cannot feel anything besides sadness. Anxiety makes you feel like you are falling apart, that everyone around you hates you and talks about you and that makes you paranoid. Jumpy, moody, angry and most kids just want to cry it out but they cannot because then even more judgement would fall on their head.

I always considered myself as a strong woman who can get through anything, and I did overcome depression by myself. Not because I had help or because I am more emotionally mature than many of my classmates were back then. But because I realised that I was more than that. I was more than my anxiety or my depression.

But I am not the rule. I am the exception. Most of the people I know who had depression and struggled with self-harm are still depressed and didn't chase after their dreams because they didn't believe that they were worth it. 

It is a big problem that our society faces every year, every day, every hour. You have probably heard about the famous - or rather infamous Aokigahara Forest, also known as the Suicide forest in Japan. There are signs set up all around the trails that urge suicidal visitors to reconsider and think about the families they are leaving behind. There were up to 100 suicides a year and in 2011 the officials stopped publicising the numbers in the hope of stopping people from going there to commit suicide. 

Why do we think that by not talking about something it will go away. Globally most news channels refuse to tell us about suicides because they don't want to encourage further incidents.

Suicide is a huge part of our society and we never talk about it. About 121 people kill themselves in a day in the US which makes it the 3rd largest cause of death in the states. That is 1 person in every 11.9 minutes. Almost 60,000 people died from suicide in Europe in the past year. 6,500 people committed suicide in the US in 2015. 2,100 people kill themselves in a year in Australia. 22.23 people out of every 100,000 kill themselves in China. They have roughly 1.4 billion inhabitants, which would put their suicide rate at an insane 311,220,000?! In Japan it is just under 30,000. In Korea it is about 14000 which is already a 4% decline from 2008. If the numbers don't horrify you, I do not know what will. Yet we hush it away, and depressed people are only "loved" when people honour their memory. I think that is rather spitting on the grave. If you never cared enough to grab the hand of a person and tell them that they are loved, needed, have a purpose, and a great future ahead of them, why do you really bother to look like you did care or that you do. We need to stop sugarcoat the stories about the people who suffered from this illness and took the fast way out - I did say fast and not easy on purpose, because death is never easy. They should have been given the help they need, not a flower on a grave or a note with fake kindness. 

Here is this huge problem, that takes so many of us, and yet, we fail to discuss it. To teach our kids that it is ok to feel bad, sad, empty sometimes but there is or should be always a rainbow after the rain. I consider myself buddhist to a certain level. I think we are all here for a purpose, and when we don't compete that purpose, we are going to relive it all in the next round. So suicide to me is not really a solution... and shouldn't be to anyone. Not because of the religion they follow but because family and friends shouldn't leave a member behind. 

I am fortunate. I cannot imagine a scenario where when I am in trouble, I am all alone with nobody to at least listen.  So if you don't have anybody to help you, please seek counseling at MentalHealth.net or pick one that applies to you the most from here. Let's stop these insane numbers and help each other grow and fight this sickness. You can also contact us if you just need someone to listen. 
There is a crowd effect that researchers just started to study which shows that the bigger group we are a part of the less likely we help each other thinking that others will stop and help so we don't need to take care of others in need. There are seven billion of us on this planet. That is a damn big crowd so not many of us want to stand up but here I am, standing straight hoping that we can fight this problem together and that if I start to stand up for what I believe in and to help the ones in need many of you will follow me in this conquest of mine to spread awareness, to guarantee a shoulder to lean on to those in need and maybe encourage some of you to be able to talk about this awful sickness and get help.

Schools and workplaces should all have a counselor in my opinion. The stress is heavy on everyone's shoulders and I think this should be a basic part of facilities like these to give the opportunity to ease the weights just a little bit.

Break the silence and be the voice that many of these people need. Be the one that cared enough to make a change. 

Dare to cry. Dare to be angry. Dare to speak up. Be dare to live and see what else the world can offer you.