Care To Understand Speech

Hi everyone, my name is Dana. I like big hoodies and sweet things. I don’t think I’m too much of a people person but everyone tells me otherwise. I care deeply about my friends and would do anything for them, especially my best friend Sana. I’m pretty tall for a girl and I’m fifteen years old. I’ve also been depressed since I was 12.

Whoa, I know. Big stuff, depression. Big big big stuff. I don’t normally talk about the skeletons in my closet because people freak out. They’re skeletons, and everyone screams when someone brings up anything negative these days.

People start to really care when I tell them about my depression. They care because suddenly, something is really wrong with me and they feel like they NEED to help me. They NEED to do something about it. They NEED to let me know that they’re there for me.

Nobody really talks about mental illness, so everyone short circuits and tries to do everything in their power to fix me. Except something they don’t realize is; I don’t need fixing.

I think if people understood more about mental illness, everyone would be a lot less stressed about the subject. Instead of continuously learning about drug and alcohol abuse, we should have someone talk about the facts of mental illness.

Did you know 1 in 5 young people develop a mental illness? Or that in Canada, my home, 5.4% of the Canadian population ages 15 years or older reported symptoms that met the criteria for a mood disorder? And 4.7% of that 5.4% was for major depression? Did any of you know that anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S, affecting up to 40 million adults? That is 18% of the US population. How about how women are twice as likely to get depressed than men?

See, we don’t get taught this stuff. We get told to not do drugs and drink. We learn about marijuana being a gateway drug and how heroin, meth, cocaine and other drugs can lead to someone’s death but we never get told that suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-24. We don’t learn that more teenagers and young adults die from suicide than cancer, heart diseases, AIDS, birth defects, strokes, pneumonia, influenza and chronic lung diseases combined. We get to watch presentations about how drugs ruined someone’s life and that it is sad because they could have been so much more if only they hadn’t gotten into that world.

So much more. That's a funny way of putting it.

My best friend back in Saskatchewan could be so much more happy if she got help for her depression and EDNOS (eating disorder not otherwise specified). My best friend in British Columbia could do so much more if only she had the will to get up in the morning. My friend in the United States could be so much more if he didn’t struggle every day with self harm, depression and crippling anxiety. My friend in Saskatchewan could be so much more stable if he got help for his schizophrenia.

I could be so much more if I actually loved myself.

I am fortunate. I have very loving parents who took me seriously when I told them that I was depressed. They tried their best to get me all the help I could ever need. They try their best when I can’t handle my emotions and I go off on them. They try their best to get me to talk to them when I’m the saddest human being alive and all I want to do is lock myself in the bathroom.

I am fortunate. And I am so grateful that I am fortunate, believe me.

But I still worry about my friend in Saskatchewan who cries herself to sleep because she’s afraid to tell her mom that she’s being crushed by a sadness so heavy that she doesn’t want to continue her life.

Not enough people know about mental illnesses. There is news all the time of tragic losses and still not enough people care. If people were more educated about mental illness and its effect on their lives, maybe people would start to care. Caring to understand is a big step in taking action.

I know facts about mental illnesses because I live with one. I looked up everything that I could because I was afraid. Maybe if I cared enough before it happened to me, or was taught it, I could have seen the signs sooner. Maybe I could have done something about it before it became a big part of my life. Maybe the people I talk to about it won’t look at me like I am a wounded bird. Maybe nothing would have changed, but I can guarantee you that I would have felt a lot less guilty and a lot less scared if my school back in Canada taught me anything about mental illness. Believe me, I know that learning about alcohol abuse and drug abuse is important but learning about mental illness is just as, if not more important since it’s so relevant in our teenage lives.

I’m not saying that this will be the saving grace for everyone who suffers from or lives with a mental illness. I’m proposing that we try to dissolve the stigma surrounding mental illness. The subject isn’t approached nearly as much as it needs to be, especially in an environment where young people’s minds are shaped every day. Teaching students about mental illness and the signs and symptoms could actually save lives. And second to saving lives, it would help a lot of young adults feel less scared or guilty about their mental illness.

My depression isn’t all of me. It is something I live with every day and have to deal with, but it isn’t me. It took me a while to figure this out. I’m not scared anymore. But there are people who still are.

This is a highschool of roughly 400 kids, I am not the only one who suffers from a mental illness here. Many students who suffer from mental illness hide it and isolate themselves in one way or another. Raising awareness can provide a safer space for people who suffer from mental illnesses. Teenagers who suffer from mental illness need to learn that it is okay that they are dealing with it. It is something I wish I learned 3 years ago. It is something I could have learned 3 years ago.

Start caring and you’ll understand more about how people are affected by mental illness. Start caring, and someone’s life can be changed for the better. Start caring, and you could potentially save someone.

Care to understand mental illness. Understand what you can do to help. Care about the people who suffer from them. Understand that we as a student body are all doing the best we can with the circumstances we are presented with, but we need to strive to do more to raise awareness. Care enough to try and make a difference. Understand that it is okay if the only person you save is yourself. Caring to understand is essential. Caring to understand saves lives.