Full Page Ad; Southwest Writers (600+ members)Newsletter (Sage) March, 2008. |
To all the young people out there...STAY IN SCHOOL ========================================== Jerry Aragon; The Humor Doctor humordoctormd@yahoo.com |
My articles published 200+ websites |
The Seriousness of Depression |
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I think it's fair to say, that most people have suffered from the "blues," once in a while...that awful "down" feeling, which may last only for a few hours...a few days or a few weeks or longer, etc. Like many people, I have heard about depression, but I didn't know much about it, and I certainly didn't know how serious it is, until I went out on the Internet and educated my self. What I found was disturbing and shocking to me. * * * I have a brother, Ricky, who is an alcoholic and was spending time at the University of New Mexico Mental Health Center, where he was getting treatment, etc. One day, my mother and I went to visit him, and as we sat in the lobby waiting to see Ricky, we heard a lot of commotion outside the front door of the Center. There were about six people outside in the group entering the Mental Health Center, including three policeman, who were all pushing and shoving, and struggling with an elderly couple about 70 years old, who they were trying to bring into the Center! Screaming, crying and shouting...the elderly couple was not easy to handle by the police, as they took them, by force, to the back of the building someplace! My mother and I looked at each other in amazement! Why were the police bringing the elderly couple into the Mental Health Center? When the nurse came by to take us back to see Ricky, I asked her what had happened to the elderly couple. The nurse told me, that the house of the elderly couple burned to the ground...and, if that wasn't bad enough...their two grandchildren perished in the fire! I don't know if there's a catastrophy worse than this! We can all relate to this terrible tragedy, because we all live in a house; apartment or mobile home, and a tragedy like this can happen to any of us in minutes! One can only imagine the guilt and depression that the elderly must have felt, during and after this awful event in their lives! To avoid harming themselves or others, the police brought them into the Mental Health Center for treatment. |
Stigma: (definition) Shame or social disgrace. |
The stigma of mental illness in this country has to be eliminated by all of us working together and through education. The bigotry; the name calling; the discrimination! The fear of losing a job is not acceptable. I saw a story in the news, whereby a young man about 21 years old, in college, was having problems with his inner self...and suicidal thoughts were coming into his mind! He was scared about what he might do, as anyone would be scared, too. He went to get help and the local mental health center in his town, and started working on his problem. When university officials found out about this, they expelled the young man from the universtiy! I was amazed when I read this, and the university officials in this case should be ashamed! The story went on to say, that the young man had sued the university, and I hope he gets all he can out of them! And I hope it sends a message that this type of behavior by the school officials is not acceptable. As I said earlier, I didn't know that much about depression until I went out on the Internet to educate myself. Just about everywhere I went, I found these two words were almost companions...the words "depression and suicide!" From: National Institute of Mental Health (nimh.gov) In any given period, 9.5% of the population, or 18.5 million American Adults, suffer from depressive illness. The economic cost for this disorder is high, but the cost of human suffering cannot be estimated! Depressive illness often interferes with normal functioning and causes pain and suffering, not only to those who have the disorder, but those who care for them. Serious depression can destroy family life, as well as the life of the ill person, etc. From: Depression.com Depression is a serious medical condition which can lead to the risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior. Although most people who are depressed do not kill themselves, untreated depression can increase the risk of possible suicide. Whether or not they intend to act on these thoughts. Severely depressed people often do not have the energy to harm themselves, but it is when the depression lifts, and they can gain increased energy, that they may be more likely to attempt suicide! From: Psychology Online (psychologinfo.com Impact of depression causes tremendous emotional pain; disrupts lives of millions of people; adversely affects the lives of families and friends; reduces work production and absenteeism; has a negative impact on the economy...costing an estimated 44 billion dollars per year! From: American Psychologicial Association Some people with depression try to harm themselves in the mistaken belief that how they are feeling will never change. From: Depression Resource Center.org Research over the past two decades has shown tht depression and heart disease are common companions, and what is worse...one can lead to the other! It appears now that depression is an important risk factor for heart disease along with high cholesterol and high blood pressure. From: Real Age Depression.org Major depression is a major cause of disability in the United States and world-wide. Over the past decade or so, I have lost SIX job by way of layoffs...all for legitimate reasons such as companies closing; defense cuts; down-sizing and so forth. I have never been fired from a job or lost a job because of attitude or poor attendance, etc. But, during all this awful time, I was suffering from depression and didn't know it. After I was hospitalized, I started learning more about depression, take the necessary medication to help me to cope, and now I hope I can help someone else suffering as I did. As I said previously, Americans have to eliminate the stigma concerning mental illness from our society, and everyone has to do their part! I use the house fire that happened to the elderly couple, because something like this can happen to any one of us! Parents have to teach their children that it's wrong to poke fun or tease others with mental illness OR any illness...and tease someone who may be having trouble coping, etc. If there's any place the Golden Rule applies...it applies here...do unto others...as you would have them do unto you! |
This is a family website! |
I didn't know how serious depression was until I went out on the Internet to educate myself. Just about everywhere I went, I saw these two words together..."depression" and "suicide." |
My articles published 200+ websites |
To all the young people out there...STAY IN SCHOOL ========================================== Jerry Aragon; The Humor Doctor humordoctormd@yahoo.com |
" Bad habits are like a comfortable bed...easy to get into...but hard to get out of." Anoymous |
.Get inspired...get motivated...get going! |
Copyright; Jerry Aragon; 2007 All Rights Reserved |
Full Page Ad; Southwest Writers (600+ members)Newsletter (Sage) March, 2008. |
