I saw the world in black and white instead of the vibrant colours and shades I knew existed.
Katie McGarry
Even Then
Sometimes in life it’s easy to give up on people. It’s easy to feel alone. Maybe you feel down, uninvited, not chosen. Social media might steal your time a little too much, and you wonder why you aren’t doing the fun things others are doing. Maybe you have a sick parent, sooner than you thought. Responsibilities might be draining you, and you wonder why no one else notices. Someone may have hurt your feelings, and you care deeply, and you don’t know how to get past it. Maybe you used to love your job, and now you wish every day you could just keep sleeping. Maybe mornings are battlegrounds as soon as the day begins. Even in the hardest times, when you feel like you are sinking, even then – don’t give up on God.
Depression is the most unpleasant thing I have ever experienced. It is that absence of being able to envisage that you will ever be cheerful again. The absence of hope. That very deadened feeling, which is so very different from feeling sad. Sad hurts but it’s a healthy feeling. It is a necessary thing to feel. Depression is very different.
J.K. Rowling
Depression & Mental Health
Did you know that 1 in every 20 Americans is living with a serious mental health condition like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or long-term recurring major depression? Did you know that 50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24? (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Life is hard. It’s harder than I think we can prepare for when we are young. It’s like secrets no one tells you because all the worst possibilities might not happen, but sometimes they do and then you just aren’t ready.
The Anxiety & Depression Association of America reports the following:
- Depression is the leading cause of disability in the world.
- In 2020, an estimated 14.8 million U.S. adults aged 18 or older had at least one major depressive episode with severe impairment in the past year. NIMH: Major Depressive Disorder
- Rates of depression were higher among young adults between the ages of 18 and 29. CDC
- Around 39% of adults with major depressive episodes did not receive treatment. NIMH: Major Depressive Disorder
- An estimated 4.1 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 in the United States had at least one major depressive episode.
- About 60% of adolescents with a major depressive episode did not get treatment. NIMH: Major Depressive Disorder
- Almost 75% of people with mental disorders remain untreated in developing countries with almost 1 million people taking their lives each year.
November 19th
This year, International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day is Saturday, November 19th. You may have noticed a lot of talk lately about mental health. Even The Young & The Restless included an attempted suicide this week on daytime television, and information on how to find help. The actors worked with experts on suicide prevention to accurately portray what someone might experience. It was important that they respectfully and sensitively handle this topic, as studies have shown not handling it well has horrible consequences. A study published in JAMA Psychiatry in 2019 said that within 3 months of the Netflix show 13 Reasons Why, suicides immediately increased among youths ages 10-19.
Seeking Help
Khalil Gibran said, “Sadness is but a wall between two gardens.” There is no shame in seeking help. There is no shame in sadness or depression. The God who created you loves you in every season. He knows what you are going through and He knows what’s coming next. Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (KJV) God already knows.
Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it. Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.
Helen Keller
When you have come to the edge of all light that you know and are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown, Faith is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly.
Patrick Overton
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