Mental Health is a huge topic. So many people deal with it but most don’t tell anybody. A lot of teens can’t deal with depression. It can get worse and worse and they will tell nobody. This is such a huge problem with teens. There are lots of ways to help deal with it and ways to help but if nobody speaks out about it nothing will change. I know from personal experience that depression is a serious thing that if you don’t find help even when you don’t feel like there is any hope for you, you can really screw up your life. So, there needs to be more ways made for teens and even adults to help deal with it.

     It is currently Mental Health Month, so it is a good time to talk about this. Depression can be a scary sudden thing. My personal experience was about three months ago when a lot was happening in my life and it became so overwhelming that I started to fall apart. I didn’t know who I could talk to, so I started not to talk much at all. I also didn’t tell anybody how I was feeling which didn’t help at all. It started getting worse and worse and then I started making bad decisions. My grades fell apart, and I was just a total wreck. But the worst part is no one knew at all. It got to a point that I was starting to fall apart from my closest friends.  I started losing them because I wasn’t putting in a lot of effort with them. They started to notice that I was not how I used to be. That’s when I began to talk about what was going on a little more. I also have another special person in my life right now; has helped me so much by getting me back on track with grades and changed the way I thought about everything and overall helped me so much with my mental health. The moral of the story is that telling people how you feel is the best option when you feel not okay. Because it’s okay not to be okay, but when you’re really not okay don’t do what I did and mess up your life before you tell anyone. It’s better to tell people you trust how you feel before it’s too late.

     If you don’t feel like you have anyone you can tell, there are other ways to deal with depression. I know most people would say to see a therapist or go to your guidance counselor. These are both honestly the best options when you feel like you have no one to talk to. But some kids don’t feel comfortable doing that. Other options are a teacher you trust or as temporary help, before you get good help is music. Music is so good for your health. It’s a way to express yourself through someone else’s words. It’s still not the best option when you’re not feeling okay but when there’s no one to help you right then put on some music that makes you happy and try to forget what is making you sad. Just try to go to a happy place until you feel better. This is only a temporary fix that you should use though because it’s only a convenience to help when you really don’t have anyone to talk to right then. But, still, from my experience, the best way is to talk to somebody even when you don’t feel like it and might be putting it off. But really take it from me that it’s best to get help fast before anything bad happens.

     Depression can be in anyone you know. So, if you feel happy check up on some of your friends and ask how they have been and what they have been up to lately. Because you never know, you could be the person to help them or even save their life just because you came to them and asked them how they are.

    I interviewed a friend about her experience with depression and how it affected her. I asked her first about what was the thing she wished she did differently knowing she was depressed. She responded with, “I wish I realized it soon and admitted to myself I needed help soon ’cause I felt if I told anybody I would be seen as weak and sick.“  I also asked her how she dealt with it and what things she did when she thought there was no hope. I got an answer of, “There was a point in my life when I felt there was nobody with me and I went a little crazy so I got admitted to the hospital. Then after that I’ve been medicated and go to therapy every other week“. My last question was how long did it take her to tell somebody? She said, “I’d say probably like 6 months, maybe 5“. I followed up with a question asking why she was so hesitant about telling somebody.” She said, “ I was scared to look stupid and I was scared to be admitted to a hospital for a lot longer than I was. I asked her what she thought helped the most? She said,” Therapy but specifically admitting to myself that I needed it and that it was helping ‘cause it really didn’t start working until I admitted I needed it and admitted it worked to myself.

     Getting more opinions on it is actually helpful because knowing other people’s opinions can make you realize that if you ever have had to deal with depression you are not alone.

     We all need to be there for each other through some of the most difficult, crazy, and scary times of being a teen.