The following article is written by Connor Gates, another mental health advocate. I encourage you to read the article in full, and check out Connor’s LinkedIn profile…
Depression can affect anyone no matter the age or gender. Around 1 in 6 adults suffered from depression in the summer of lockdown, while 1 in 3 women aged 16 to 29 experienced moderate to depressive symptoms. Depression is a worldwide problem and affects everyone; there Is no common theme to why people start to get depressed. The mental health charity, Mind, reported that 1 in 4 people will go through a mental health problem each year in England – not only that but 1 in 6 people in England will suffer from anxiety or depression.
Anxiety is such a common issue today, yet people still do not want to talk about it because there is stigma attached to it. The problem with this generation and society is that we don’t want to be seen as weak. But struggling with mental health isn’t weak, it is one of the bravest things you can go through. Anxiety can affect people in their day to day life, it can be one of the hardest mental health battles.
There are so many different types of anxiety, such as:
– social anxiety
– OCD
– PTSD
– health anxiety
My struggle with anxiety started in lockdown. The reason it started in lockdown was because I was so used to being in a confined space, and didn’t want to leave my home as that had become my safe place.
There were times that I would lie to those around me so I didn’t have to leave the house. When I did, I would start shaking, sweating, and feel the urge to be sick.
The reason I am saying this is because anxiety can affect anyone at any time in life, but you can also overcome it like I did. The best thing I found that helps me cope with my anxiety is finding out what triggers you and writing them down; also find out the things that calm you down, not just the things that stress you out.
Depression is an increasingly growing concern in England and across the whole world. The thing with depression is that it’s a silent killer, so you never know what is going on in someone’s head.
Depression has so much stigma attached to it still because no one likes to admit they are struggling – especially men and boys. Society has told men and boys that they must be strong and hide their emotions and battle through everything.
Society is wrong.
The strongest thing you can ever do in life is ask for help when you are struggling. Too many people try to put this brave face on around their friends and act like everything is fine but when in reality it is not. We are not designed to bottle up emotions inside of ourselves, there is a reason we can speak to people using words and it is to tell people how we are feeling.
Depression can lead to substance abuse with alcohol or drugs. Substance abuse is very dangerous because people will do this to escape from the world they are in now. The more they abuse that substance, the more they are going to have to take each time just to get the same high to escape the reality they are in. 16.6% of adults in England report drinking to hazardous levels, while 1.2% report levels which indicate probable dependence on alcohol.
Depression can affect people differently, there is no one sign for depression. For example, when I suffered from depression I tried to hide it. I would go to school like normal, and be my normal self around my friends and at home I would try to do the same. The longer I was hiding it, I just felt more drained everyday.
There were days I wasn’t sleeping during the nights and I would sleep at school.
I had friends who I found out months later were suffering from depression, and they were apparently always happy. Which just goes to show some people are really good at hiding it.
If you know someone who is struggling with depression, the best thing you can do is allow them to talk. You don’t need to understand how they are feeling – the majority of the time you won’t – but you need to understand that this person may not feel comfortable talking to anyone else. Listen and reassure them that you’re here for them. If you are struggling with depression or anxiety embrace in your own unique way. I always like to say, everyone has a story to tell – so why not share yours? In this world, no one likes to be the same as the next person. We all want to be different and unique.
If you are, or have suffered, from any mental health issue – whether that is depression, anxiety or any thing else – do not let it overcome your life. Yes, it may be a struggle at first, and there will be some tough and dark days, but when you get out of the dark days the feeling you will have is amazing.
Depression is not going to go away, but we can learn to control it, and help our mind become a more positive place.
What helps me is complimenting myself more – because hearing, or saying, nice things makes a real difference to your day.
Journaling helps my depression a lot because there are things I don’t want to talk to people about, but I want to get it off my chest. So I write it down to help me not overthink.
Meditation also helps. I do this as soon as I wake up and before I go to bed, as it empties your mind so you don’t have any rushing emotions whilst you are trying to sleep.
Thank you, once again, Connor for writing this article!
– D
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