- Chris Scott
- Milner, GA
- United States
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What can we do about the constant rise of depression and suicide in young adults?
I am seventeen years of age and have recently come out of a large stage of my life where I dealt with a lot of depression. I have dealt with and still deal with people in high school (and even middle school in some cases) that deal with depression every single day and never have anyone that they talk to about their problems.
I have known people that have committed suicide from the weight of depression upon their shoulders throughout their lives, and have heard about these cases all over the world. I, myself, have been driven to the point where I thought that the only way out of my depression was by suicide because there was nothing to help me.
I want to know your opinions and ideas on the subject of depression and suicide in young adults today and what we can do to prevent these problems in the future. Thanks for listening!
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Dylan Gonzalez
Suicide, to put it plainly, is giving up. As harsh as it sounds, that is the truth. We must be strong and understand that life has to go on. I think often about suicide. I write about a lot in lyrics and poems. Though I never considered it as a legitimate option, it still has a presence in my mind.
The most effective way I combat my depression is by living my life with a vengeance. I try to make every day an adventure and constantly change my routine. Sadly I am alone in this concept because most of the people I know like to "play it safe". I am not impulsive, but rather when I die and my life shall flash before my eyes, I want to make it worth watching.
Another issue I have to deal with is that my "living life with a vengeance" philosophy often manifests itself as self-destructive behaviors. I hope one day I can resolve that before it is too late
Linda Hesthag Ellwein 50+
I'm glad to hear you write lyrics and poetry, because you certainly have a writer within! I hope you continue to refine this craft. I believe you have a gift. Who knows - it may be your calling, and why you feel so deeply. That said, I know what it is to live life with a vengeance. I recall a time when I, too, included self destructive behaviors in my description of living life fully. I thought it was a way to experience life in all it's glory, until it occurred to me that self destruction is not living -- and I didn't want to die. I stopped most behaviors that created needless or negative drama in my life, or made me feel badly afterwards. I asked for support from people close to me - and receiving it made me feel more alive than ever. I still have some vices, but since then - I was 24 - my life has been the true adventure, because I authentically feel who I am at all times. I've lost many friends, needlessly, over the years due to their self destructive behavior. It's my hope you leave those behaviors in the past - sooner, rather than later. The real adventure is on the other side of them! I promise it's true!
You have so much to offer the world. I hope you're around for a very long time. I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for your name on a best seller one day!
Simone Lackerbauer 100+
Do you post your poems somewhere online, for example on deviantART? Readers' comments can be very encouraging and help work up your emotions.
Frans Kellner 100+
Do you keep a diary?
If not it may work for you.
Colleen Steen 500+
Mark Meijer 100+
Here's perhaps a different way of looking at it. Maybe harsh as well. Or is it? You decide :).
Suicide is much harder than giving up. Let's face it, killing yourself is not easy! So what is giving up? How about this: Stop fighting against either life or death. Existence, in and of itself, is not a struggle. A challenge, sure. Not a struggle, unless you make it one. Give up the need to wrestle everything into submission, or there will be no end to it. Even suicide is a wrestle. It's not like it's the easy way out. So why not give that up too? ;)
You say suicide still has a presence in your mind. Don't worry about that. And don't worry about being alone in not playing it safe. Your thoughts aren't clouding over your heart, and that's all you need. As for the living life with a vengeance becoming destructive, here again you are already listening to your heart, because that's why you see it. So, you have nothing to prove anymore, to yourself or anyone else, about how you should live your life. If you can live it without making a point of it, then no more destruction.
Linda Hesthag Ellwein 50+
Also, anger is not only a prerequisite to depression, it is also an expression of feeling victimized or out of control. Or it can simply be related to testosterone levels. If anger is directed at those who have wronged you, have something you don't, or situations you cannot control - such as being a square peg in a round hole in a system you feel stuck in, or authority figures you don't agree with, yet must obey - change your reality or stop giving them power. I realize this is easier said than done, but it is that simple.
Sometimes anger serves too. It can be a catalyst for creativity and expression if channeled well, and not turned inward or towards someone else.
Colleen Steen 500+
It's always good to consider another perception. Perhaps it is an individual's perception in any given moment? Life and death can both be challenging, and I agree with you that anything we struggle against is probably going to be much more challenging. Struggling, wrestling with, or fighting against something is resistance to what "is", and usually causes the challenge to be more difficult.
I remember 35 years ago, when I contemplated ending my life. I was diagnosed with degenerative disc dis-ease...a progressive degeneration in the spine, which generally causes pain and disability.
I was only 30 years of age...why me?...how can this happen to me?....What will my life be like if I am totally disabled? Poor me!!!
I was on pain meds, in traction, wore a neck brace, and was unable to do very much because of pain. After wallowing in pity for awhile, I decided to live, and if I was going to live, it was going to be with gusto!!! Once I could answer the question "why me", with "why NOT me", I could move past the speed bump:>) I took control of my physical and emotional health.
I sometimes felt like a fish in the big ocean, getting pummelled by the sea, caught in the kelp beds, caught on the fisherman's hook, threatened by bigger fish. I learned to swim with strength, and I learned that I could swim confidently through the kelp beds...I learned how to swim around the fisherman's hook and bigger fish. Life felt like a system I was stuck in, as Linda insightfully says, until I changed my perception of life.
We need to stop giving situations or people power over us. We need to take control of our lives, and I also agree that anger can be a catalyst for creativity when channeled appropriately. I read a great little book back then, that helped change my thinking/feeling about myself and the role I play in the life experience..."Pulling your own strings", by Wayne Dyer.
Mark Meijer 100+
http://markmeijer.blogspot.com/2010/12/thou-shalt-surf.html
:)
Colleen Steen 500+
That is another good way of saying something very similar:>)
"To stave off drowning, dive down and embrace it
The sea will spit you back, astonished!"
(David Brendan Hopes from "A Sense of the Morning - Nature Through New Eyes")
Mark Meijer 100+
Colleen Steen 500+
"Out of its abysses, unpredictable life emerges, with a never-ending procession of miracles, crises, healing and growth. When I realize this once again, I see the absurdity of my belief that I can understand, predict and control life. All I can really do is go along for the ride, with as much consciousness and love as I can muster in the moment".
(Molly Young Brown)
This was sort of my mantra during the near fatal head/brain injury and cancer:>)
Like you say Mark...Thou shalt ride the surf!
Colleen Steen 500+
If anyone is feeling low or depressed, take a look at this young man, what challenges he was born with, and his attitude about life:>)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc4HGQHgeFE
M ER
I am a teenager myself dealing with these problems, and have gone to numerous programs for youths like myself where we were told countless stories like this. And for a short while afterwards myself and others I spoke with felt better, inspired and as if we could conquer anything. But when time wore on depression settled again and as we remembered the stories they served not as a source of inspiration but as agony.
"This guy has these horrible problems and yet he is happy and enjoying life, so why can't we be like that? What is it about us that makes us unable to sustain our enjoyment and general happiness?"
There is of course nothing wrong with stories like this and I admire every individual who has overcome depression and difficult circumstances but they do not touch on this particular problem. Every person, young or old, dealing with depression has to be approached from a unique angle. There is no one solution that works for everyone.
Colleen Steen 500+
You are absolutely right, that stories like this may or may not inspire individuals, and there is no one solution that works for everyone. I agree..."Every person, young or old, dealing with depression has to be approached from a unique angle", which is difficult to do on a public forum. At least stories like this helped you to feel better "for a short while afterwards"? That's good isn't it?
You say that "as time wore on depression settled again". It's important to use whatever practice or method you believe may contribute to a change for you. There may be several different factors that cause you to be unable to sustain your enjoyment and general happiness. You are very insightful in realizing that "there is no one solution that works for everyone".
Many people on this thread have offered some suggestions, and no one knows for sure what might work for you or anyone else. I do not offer my story, or the story of others, believing that it will solve the challenge for anyone. I offer it only as another possibility. It is up to you, and maybe a health care provider, to take the steps you think may help you move through depression. My love is with you Maria:>)